Students Inside Albany (SIA) is a program of the League of Women Voters of New York State Educational Foundation. SIA brings together young people from across the state to Albany for a first-hand look at the work of their state government. For more than 25 years, the League of Women Voters of the Cooperstown Area has sponsored local students to Students Inside Albany. The 2026 conference will be held May 17-20, 2026.

This year, SIA will bring together more than 60 students from across the state for this hands-on experience about how state government works. The program is designed to increase high school students’ awareness of their responsibility in representative government and provide information about the tools necessary for meeting that responsibility. Students will participate in a series of interactive lectures on topics such as the state budget process, the role of lobbyists in the legislative process, and citizen rights to access government information. While in Albany, the students will also tour the state’s Capitol, attend a legislative session and shadow their Senator and their Assemblymember for an afternoon.

Last year’s delegate to SIA, Elias MacLeish, remarked “Students Inside Albany was a really neat experience. I enjoyed getting to talk to other kids from around the state and getting to hear their perspectives on NYS government. I also learned a lot about how the NYS government works.”

The Cooperstown League will send two delegates to Albany. SIA is supported by the LWVNY Education Foundation and by donors to the League of Women Voters of the Cooperstown Area. The Cooperstown League covers all expenses, but students must arrange their own transportation. Deadline for applications is January 30, 2026.

Students who attend high schools in the Cooperstown area or students who are home-schooled and live in one of the qualifying school districts are invited to apply for SIA. Applications are now available through school guidance counselors. Home school students should contact their local district’s guidance counselor.

The qualifying school districts are: Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School District; Cooperstown Central School District; Edmeston Central School; Laurens Central School; Milford Central School; Morris Central School District; Richfield Springs Central School District; Schenevus Central School District; and Worcester Central School District.

Contact Maria Kaltenbach, LWVCA SIA coordinator, for more information (margirlic [at] yahoo.com).

2025 Delegate to Students Inside Albany Named

Elias MacLeish has been chosen as the League of Women Voters of the Cooperstown Area’s 2025 delegate to the annual Students Inside Albany (SIA) conference in Albany. Elias, the son of Padraic and Shelby MacLeish, is a junior at Cooperstown High School and lives Hartwick, N.Y.

 “I enjoy learning about how our government works (and doesn’t work),” Elias noted in his application, “[and] the conference would teach me valuable networking and lobbying skills, and … I would be able to translate what I learned into valuable resources and power for my community.”

The League of Women Voters of New York State Education Foundation, Inc. sponsors one delegate from each League in New York to SIA. The program is designed to increase high school students’ awareness of their responsibility in representative government and provide information about the tools necessary for meeting that responsibility. This year’s SIA Conference will take place May 18-20 and will bring 40-some students from across the state.

Students will participate in a series of interactive lectures on topics such as the state budget process, the role of lobbyists in the legislative process, citizen rights to access government information, the role of media in politics, and the move to reform state government. Shadowing their Senator and their Assemblymember for an afternoon and attending a session on the Chamber floors are two of the highlights of SIA. 

At Cooperstown, Elias is involved in Mock Trial, Envirothon, Yearbook. Cross Country, Track and Field, and Leadership training for athletes (LFA). He has also been leading a project to restore the LaCava Nature Center. He is interested in pursuing studies that would lead to a career in mining.

In recommending Elias one of his teachers noted, “…in a discussion about the suspension of habeas corpus, Elias connected this historical event to American life today, emphasizing the importance of natural rights and how the government protects or overlooks them at certain times. At Students Inside Albany Conference, Elias will bring the same enthusiasm and critical thinking skills….”

“Congratulations to Elias. The SIA program is a fantastic immersive experience for our area students,” says Kristin Pullyblank, Co-president of the LWV of the Cooperstown Area. “Civics education is at the forefront of the League’s mission, and we are fortunate to have been able to send at least one student since the inception of the program in 2001.”