LYNN — Esandem Forchap, a junior at Lynn English High School, is the 3rd in his class of 500, the president of its Black Student Union, and one of 18 students to join Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s Inaugural Youth Council.
The Item also learned that Forchap is an avid “Breaking Bad” fan and an aspiring fiction writer, but it’s his busy schedule that’s making headlines.
The Youth Council will convene regularly to advise the Attorney General and her team about critical issues facing youth and help the council members build skills as leaders and advocates.
Throughout 12 meetings, Forchap will join 17 students from across the Commonwealth to offer their wisdom and perspective to help inform the Attorney General’s Office on issues that affect them, including bias and discrimination, mental health, social media use, anti-bullying, school safety and more, according to the a press release from the Attorney General.
Forchap is a community organizer for Neighbor 2 Neighbor’s Youth Commission. He said recently, the commission has been working on a campaign to increase the funding for extracurricular activities at school.
And speaking of extracurricular activities, Forchap also fits several into his schedule on top of a course load of all Advanced Placement classes. He is the captain of the science team, captain of the mock trial team, and part of a research program that is researching machine learning to predict cystic fibrosis progress.
He also participated in a Summer Academy at Carnegie Mellon for math and science, and is the founder and president of the English’s Black Student Union.
Forchap said he wants to advocate for better education equity. He described how his family migrated from Cameroon in 2017, adding the country has been in a state of civil war and when he lived there, a lot of the children were not able to attend school due to the economy.
I want to advocate for “increasing educational opportunities for a lot of marginalized communities, whether it’s here in Lynn, or in Cameroon, or other places in the world that could benefit from more education,” he said.
After attending school in Cameroon, Forchap started fifth grade at Hood Elementary then went to Thurgood Marshall Middle School.
Forchap said if he could give advice to other students or himself a few years ago, it would be to “do what you’re passionate about.”
Forchap’s guidance counselor, Madison Molea emphasized how he is a “great voice” for other students and his dedication and ambition in and outside of the classroom.
“He’s very passionate about his education, and he will do great things,” she said.
