Owensboro High School senior Macy Critchelow has gone from founding a Y Club at OHS to earning one of the top roles in the Kentucky Youth Assembly. The 17-year-old has been selected as a Justice of the Supreme Court for the mock government program, just a year after stepping into the courtroom as an attorney.
Last year’s KYA was her first year participating in the program. She said the opportunity gave her confidence and cemented her goal of becoming an attorney in the future.
“I definitely realized that it made my public speaking so much better. As I was speaking, I got more and more confident with myself and that I could actually do it,” Critchelow said. “It definitely solidified the fact that I want to be an attorney.”
Critchelow said she and a classmate officially launched OHS’s Y Club last year, giving their peers access to the statewide program for the first time. While the YMCA Youth Association has long offered opportunities through KYA and the Kentucky United Nations Assembly, OHS had not been recognized as an official chapter until their efforts, she said.
“Now everybody that is in our group is an official Y member,” Critchelow said.
Last year, Critchelow competed in the Supreme Court program by herself — despite most teams being groups of three — and argued both sides of a case in front of student justices. She said the experience was challenging but rewarding, leading her to apply for a justice position this year.
“This time, I also have to write questions that I will present on the bench,” Critchelow said. “I’ll get a gavel and a robe, and I’ll be sitting on the bench.”
Her long-term goal is to become an immigration attorney, though she said the experience has also inspired her to consider becoming a judge.
“I love the Y so much. It’s like a little family. I love being involved in everything,” she said. “Public speaking is something everyone needs, and I think definitely that if everybody could have public speaking training in the way that the Y gives it, it would be good.”
Critchelow will serve on the Supreme Court during KYA’s third high school conference, scheduled for November 22–24, when students from across the state will gather to argue cases, present bills, and step into roles of mock government.
“This will make me love it even more than I already do,” she said. “It means a lot to me to be part of something that can also be a legacy here at OHS.”
