Last week, student senate members from Revere, Somerville, and Salem welcomed Jessica Giannino, Revere State Representative and former student at Revere High School, to discuss government and community issues during the Boston Area Student Innovation (BASICS) Conference at the high school.
With student senators from Revere and CityLab High Schools, as well as student senators from the surrounding communities, Rep. Giannino discussed her journey from high school to Salem State University that culminated with her being elected to the Revere City Council at 18 years old, then as Revere’s state representative in 2020. This trajectory, said Giannino, has shaped her political and world views and given her a unique perspective when it comes to city, state, and federal politics.
Giannino told the student senate members present at the conference that her primary focus since being elected to state politics has been on economic growth, workforce development, and cutting-edge research in Massachusetts. However, she emphasized the importance of ‘collaboration’, especially in this divided political climate nationwide.
“Politics, especially federally, has become so divisive,” Giannino told the students. “It has become all too common that bullying is okay and that treating people with disrespect is acceptable, and adults have made that commonplace. I think until we get back to basic common courtesy, respecting each other again, listening to each other again, and respecting other opinions again this divisiveness will continue to exist.”
Giannino cautioned students that having disagreements politically doesn’t mean you need to end relationships and urged the students to engage in political discourse with respect that moves towards collaboration.
“We've created the kind of divisive environment where people will not talk to each other because they disagree on one policy, or a vote, or a candidate, and it's created so much animosity and so much stress and so much anger,” she said. “As a country, you can feel it, you can physically feel it, and I think it's taking its toll on a lot of people. It's just so exhausting.”
Giannino gave some insight to the student government leaders on how she copes.
“So, there are things that we can control and things that we can't, and every day, I kind of have to wake up and center myself and look at what is in my control and what is not,” she said. “What is in my control is how I treat people and how I receive feedback. So, I think just by starting at that most basic level of just going back to having better conversations, sharing more respect, and listening to each other is how I try and approach my political career.”
This after all, said Giannino, is what politics should be about—collaboration.
“So, when we sit down as legislators and talk about things that are important to our communities, we kind of sit in a room just like this and brainstorm what pieces of legislation are impacting our district, and then come up with a plan on how to present them to the Speaker of the House and House leadership in terms of what we want to accomplish. It is exactly what you students are doing today but on a bigger scale,”
Giannino went on, “So I love to see this collaboration between Revere, Somerville, and Salem and to see students working collaboratively towards a common goal. As I said, a big part of my job and politics is sitting down with your colleagues and saying, “I have a great bill or a great idea for a new initiative that could be beneficial to Revere but may be beneficial to your constituents as well. I grew up in Revere but now I have friends and colleagues that live in Ludlow and Fitchburg and Clinton and all over the state.”
Giannino told the students that being involved in student government is a great way to meet new friends and gain a new and different perspective.
“You’ll meet friends from all over the state, which I think, growing up in the greater Boston area, we kind of become very sheltered, and we stay in our bubbles,” she said.
In closing Giannino reflected on the importance of a supportive community and strong relationships formed during one’s high school years. She highlighted the role of teachers as mentors and the enduring friendships made, which will remain significant even as the students present have pursued diverse paths in life.
“RHS gave me the foundation to do what I wanted to do because it gave me a good support system,” she said. “I knew at the end of the day that I had in my community awesome teachers that I could always go to. I think if every one of you have at least one teacher that you can go to and talk to about life, that's so important, I knew I always did when I was here.”
Giannino added, “If it was a problem I was having at home if it was a problem I was having with friends in the classroom, I always knew there was someone else that I could talk to and that support system was huge for me. Also, the friends that I had growing up gave me an incredible support system, I think those real, genuine connections that you make in high school and investing in those relationships is so important. But I think that's what makes me very different, and I hope that's what makes your community different. At the end of the day, every relationship you have in your life is a reflection of the effort you put into it.”