Claire Lyle, teen journalist, speaks on community and helping others

For as long as she can remember, Claire Lyle has had a passion for helping others.

“I’ve changed what I want to do after high school so many times but everything I’ve always done, whether it’s post-high school, club or activity, it has this common theme of helping people,” said Lyle, an incoming senior at Lewis and Clark High School who turns 17 on Monday.

Lyle’s accomplishments at LC are numerous as speech and debate captain, class secretary and president of the Best Buddies club, which connects students in general education and special education.

Lyle believes in the importance of building a community across social and political divisions and feels proud of her work for Best Buddies.

Working with The Spokesman-Review as part of the Teen Journalism Institute, she said, gives her an opportunity to foster engagement between different groups.

Lyle grew up in rural Whitman County and said the assumptions made about her by family and peers shaped how she thought about herself when she was younger, and about how she thinks of community today.

“My idea of community is a group of people that you identify yourself with. It’s having a group of people that you can share yourself with.”

Lyle finds community through her school’s curator club, which works to involve students in the school’s library through grants and encouraging the circulation of library books.

Sharing connection with people makes Lyle excited to write, and she hopes to advocate for people in her communities and become a positive force in others’ lives.

“I just want to be someone who can be there for someone else no matter what,” Lyle said.