Oxford Comprehensive High School student Cedar Worster of Harrison has been appointed to serve a two-year term on the Maine State Board of Education (BOE) for Congressional District 2. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat

PARIS — Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School junior Cedar Worster has been appointed as student representative to the Maine State Board of Education (BOE) for Congressional District 2.

The Harrison teen said until OHCHS Principal Paul Bickford presented her with an application and encouraged her to apply she didn’t really know anything about the board and the post.

After looking into it, she decided she wanted to go for it. The board has two student representatives that serve during their junior and senior years, with one appointment made to replace the senior representative.

“It’s a group of representatives and senators on the board, and there are two student representatives,” Worster told the Advertiser Democrat. “You apply during your sophomore year to start as a junior. Every high school is allowed to have one student apply for a two-year term.”

School principals, in this case Bickford, choose one among applicants within their school to proceed for consideration at the state level. Appointments are made by the governor.

Worster joins eight adults, four from each congressional district around the state, and student representative Phat Thai, a senior from Deering High School this fall. She succeeds Ryan Hafener, who graduated from Hampden Academy last month.

There are a few committees that branches off from the board: legislative action; school construction, higher education; career and technical education; and student involvement.

As a student representative Worster was automatically placed on the student involvement committee. Board members may also apply to serve on the other committees; Worster is considering joining school construction.

A student’s perspective on school construction is a timely opportunity for one in Maine School Administrative District 17, although she says it is mostly coincidental.

“That [new schools] wasn’t exactly what drove me to that position,” Worster said. “I do like the general idea of voicing my opinion for that and getting a better idea of what is happening. It’s definitely going to be useful, based on what’s in our district right now.”

She is also interested in sitting on the legislative action committee but is cautious of overextending her civic service with her academic and athletic priorities.

Her goal with a two-year appointment to BOE is to broaden her understanding of public education.

“I guess to get a better look into the education system,” Worster said. “This last year I’ve gotten more interested in the process and I want to become more educated about it. We gain a lot of opportunities through the program, networking and meeting a lot of people. I’m looking forward to the new experiences in general.”

The BOE’s responsibilities follow school years so Worster’s work will not start until September, but she has already attended one session as orientation for what is ahead.

“It was very fast paced,” she said. “My first day, my number one goal was to take it all in and get a feel of how it works. It was a good experience.

“There were summaries of previous meetings of the board and reviewed things that have happened in previous months.”

It also gave her a chance to become acquainted with the other board members, who she said were welcoming and kind. She was also introduced to the other student representatives Hafener and Thai.

The board is a bipartisan body where its representatives come together to hear new viewpoints and work toward solutions.

“There are disagreements in conversations,” she said. “Obviously, no one is ever going to be on the exact same page. But everyone is open to hearing others’ opinions and there were talking periods between the sessions. It’s diverse with differing perspectives. People seem to get along really well.

“I’m excited to learn more about the education system, and how political systems work, too.”

The board meets once a month, generally in Augusta and occasionally at different schools around the state.