Vote.
That one word has so much power for every registered voter, but for young voters, many don't realize yet how much power their vote has.
That is why on Tuesday, Rock the Vote and the Steelers, in conjunction with the Caileigh Lynn McDowell Foundation, hosted a virtual voter training session for students at Woodland Hills High School in the Pittsburgh area, some of the students already registered voters, others eligible voters not yet registered to vote, to inform them of how important voting is.
And for young voters, what better way to engage them in the voting process than hearing from another young voter.
JuJu Smith-Schuster surprised the group, joining the zoom training session to encourage the students to be active voters.
"I wanted to be a part of this call to speak to you guys," Smith-Schuster told the students. "I'm 23 years old and honestly I am so excited you guys are registered or getting registered to vote. It's very important for many reasons, not just for us, but for our future. For the future of your kids. Some things we may not agree on, but we all agree voting is important."
Smith-Schuster stressed to the students how powerful their voices are in an election, something that he has learned to understand himself.
"People always say my voice doesn't matter," said Smith-Schuster. "Your voice does matter. Your vote does matter. Honestly it really does. Speaking from my experience of voting in the past, I didn't know much. I was uneducated and had to learn just like you guys. I took time out, watched the debate, learning what I like and don't like. At the end of the day your vote matters."
Rock the Vote is a non-partisan organization and the purpose of the training was to let the students know the history of voting, what the different types of government representation are, and to simply let them understand that being engaged is important.
Smith-Schuster even offered to be of further help to the students if they have questions leading up to the election.
"I would be more than open to talking to you guys," said Smith-Schuster. "Get registered to vote."
