A Laramie High School senior known as an LGBT advocate hopes to give students a voice on the Albany County County School District No. 1 Board of Education.

Rihanna Kelver, 18, seeks to represent Area A, which encompasses the City of Laramie. She says her experience working on an ad hoc committee that investigated the possibility of a district policy for transgender and gender-nonconforming students inspired her to pursue a position on the board.

"I want to really hone in and focus on the students' needs and giving students a voice in the district," says Kelver. "I think if we can give students a voice... it will be very valuable for our district to grow and to kind of learn what the students need."

Kelver says working for an inclusive transgender student policy is a priority as part of her broader goal of representing students on the board. Kelver believes the district can make improvements in other areas as well.

"A lot of health and sex education in a lot of places are still falling behind," says Kelver. "They're definitely focused more around abstinence-only kind of philosophy."

Overall, Kelver wants to maximize the amount of district resources directed toward educating students.

"There are plenty of literary courses that can get more up-to-date and more current books," says Kelver, who also suggests augmenting AP and fine arts courses.

Kelver is putting her campaign committee together while finishing out her final semester at LHS.

Lawrence Perea, Julie Radosevich and Trish Penny are the Area A incumbents up for reelection in November.

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