About a month ago, Emerson Gonet saw firsthand the shortage of doctors and nurses in the healthcare industry. A senior at Old Rochester Regional High School, Gonet was in the hospital and could see there was one nurse for the entire floor.

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, Gonet discussed issues like the healthcare worker shortage and more at the Massachusetts State House. She was there with Jaymison Gunschel, an Old Rochester 2024 graduate, and the dozens of other members of Gov. Maura Healey’s Youth Advisory Council.

The 60-member group made up of young people from across the state convened Wednesday in a summit hosted by Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. The summit included a panel with Health & Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh and Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega.

Then, Gonet, Gunschel and the rest of the council split up into smaller groups to discuss education, healthcare, mental health and youth violence. Prior to the summit, the advisory group had conducted listening sessions and surveys to determine the priorities of and what issues were most prevalent to the state’s youth.

“We're trying to be the change that we want to see in this world, and by us being able to learn different things and promote different things, I think that just helps us kind of start something that we want to see not change, but improve,” Gonet said.

A freshman at American University, Gunschel said the summit served as an opportunity to hear other voices and how state leadership — like Walsh and Ortega — view certain matters.

“It was also just a great opportunity to kind of bounce ideas off each other and get a better handle on some of these issues that we're talking about,” Gunschel said.

Gunschel, of Mattapoisett, and Gonet, of Fairhaven, are both members of the Youth Advisory Council’s healthcare subcommittee. During the smaller group discussions during the summit on Beacon Hill, Gunschel said his group spoke about addressing equity problems within school districts.

Gonet said her group discussed things like the staff shortage in healthcare, schools implementing feminine hygiene products and financial literacy classes.

“We can't make these bills or these laws, but we can bring awareness to these issues, to give the lieutenant governor and governor our take on what's going on in the issues that we find concern to,” Gonet said.

Healey established the Youth Advisory Council in September 2023. Council members range in age 16 to 21 and serve two-year appointments.

“Your voice is your power,” Healey told the group at the summit.

Gunschel said it was “great to hear” from Healey and Driscoll.

“It's nice to hear from your leaders what they think about certain issues and what they're doing to solve problems that are facing the state of Massachusetts,” he said.

Gunschel also said Healey and Driscoll “really emphasized how important it is to hear from the youth” and the importance of the issues highlighted by the council.

“I walked away with the feeling that we're getting somewhere and that it's going to be actual change,” he said.