It’s not difficult to imagine Kate Selvitelli will one day be president of the United States. Just spend a few minutes with her.
Selvitelli is a rising senior at Academic Magnet High School in North Charleston. Juggling her classes, sports and work is only a part of the picture — the rest is her award-winning education activism.
“My entire life, I knew I wanted to do this,” she told the Charleston City Paper in an interview.
“When I was 8 years old, I told my mom I wanted to be the president. As a student, this is just a way to get started.”
Selvitelli has been entrenched in student advocacy for the last two years, when she first began attending public school board meetings to push back against book bans that were then just beginning to gain traction in the Palmetto State.
“I remember one of the speeches I gave then was like, ‘A 15-year-old student has to come and help you do your job when I’m supposed to be trusting you to run my education,’ ” she said. “I’ve said that in a couple other places since then, and it’s still true.”
Since then, she’s become involved in the Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization (DAYLO) and attended state meetings with the S.C. Board of Education, advocacy panels held by the American Library Association, meetings with Authors Against Banned Books and more.
In May, she received the Riley Award from the S.C. Education Association, one of the highest honors of student activists in South Carolina. Three weeks later, the National Education Association named her the Student Activist of the Year. For the whole country.
“We’re very proud of her and her efforts,” said Kate’s mom Sandra Selvitelli. “When DAYLO started here, she was 15. She’s always been very smart and empathetic toward her fellow classmates, and she’s a passionate reader, so all of these things really spoke to her.
“Hearing about all the things they had done, going to Washington D.C. and meeting with senators and authors and all of these things — it was very appealing to Kate,” she added. “I said, ‘OK, let’s figure out how to dip our toes into this. It turns out, it ballooned very quickly.”
Diving in
Kate Selvitelli is not the type of person to dip her toes in to anything. Maintaining straight As at her rigorous high school (and taking AP courses to boot), while participating in activities and hobbies like track and baking for her family as she balances advocacy efforts means a schedule that is packed to the brim.
“People ask her all the time, ‘Do you ever sleep?’ and of course she does,” her mother said. “It’s tough, but she is extraordinarily organized and so efficient with her time.”
It’s no surprise when asked about her future plans, both college and beyond, Kate’s answer was long and detailed — aspirations for universities like Harvard or Brown, double majoring in political science and international affairs, and minors in Middle Eastern studies and American Sign Language, journalism or Mandarin. All of this would culminate, she said, in traveling the world and helping people in the worst situations.
“I just want to be a humanitarian,” she said. “I want to help all of these countries around the world get into a better place.”
‘A different beast’
But for now, Kate Selvitellie’s efforts are more grounded and rooted in her education.
“I grew up always loving to read, and the books they keep banning are ones that feature diverse characters,” she said. “If you aren’t able to read about diversity, you never learn to put yourself in other people’s shoes. … I can always find someone who looks like me, but not every student can, and now, other kids can’t even see themselves in these books.”
Kate explained that she grew up in a White, middle-class family and was raised to think of everyone as equal.
“I was always taught, ‘Oh, this person has two dads — OK!’ or ‘That person has a Black mom and a White dad — OK!’ But now I’m older, and I keep seeing all this pushback against diversity.”
When she first attended a Charleston County School Board meeting, DAYLO members from Beaufort County told her that what she was seeing was a different beast than seen usually.
“There was a lot going on, and there was a lot of screaming,” the student said. “Which you wouldn’t think the adults would be doing.”
A network of support
Kate said she’s lucky to have a family that supports her advocacy efforts.
“Some of the other kids who do this with me don’t have that. My mom, before we could drive ourselves, would take off work early to drive us to all of these things.”
Sandra said she was happy to do it.
“It was exciting,” she said, laughing. “I would pack the car with a bunch of snacks, and that was kind of my dream world. She wants to be president, and I want to make a bunch of teenagers happy with snacks.”
There have been challenges, of course, Sandra said, explaining that this kind of advocacy work isn’t always accepted in a state like South Carolina.
“It’s hard, and it’s been nerve-racking at times as a mom,” she said. “We live in a time when things that necessarily shouldn’t be political or controversial or get people upset really do. We’re quick as a society to just read two words of a sentiment and make an opinion about something or someone without stopping to listen or understand.”
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