By Associated Press
Birmingham, AL – An outspoken middle school student has become a consultant for Birmingham after giving an impressive presentation at a city council meeting.
Raven Hatcher went to Birmingham City Hall Tuesday with a list of suggestions to improve Ensley Park and left with a $10,000 contract to make it happen.
"I expected to speak my piece and be off to school to present a project," the 13-year-old W.J. Christian School student said. "I wasn't expecting this response."
Raven said she came up with the plan after she and her friends played sports in other parks and compared those to the ones in Birmingham.
"We have played in all these other places, and they have better parks than we do," she said. "We felt that we needed some help."
Ensley Park was recently renovated but the young consultant said there's more work to be done.
Her suggestions include updating the playground, adding more seating and bringing more activities to the park, including senior citizen and tutorial programs.
"This is a plan better than some folks we pay huge money to," Mayor Larry Langford said after the presentation.
The mayor can award contracts of up to $10,000 without council approval. Council members joined the mayor and the audience in a standing ovation after Raven's presentation.
Langford said half of Raven's $10,000 must be placed in a scholarship fund.
Raven first discussed her proposal with Councilman Steven Hoyt, whose district includes Ensley Park. Hoyt then invited her to speak to the full council.
"I'm very proud of the talent and intellectual property we have with respect to Birmingham children," Hoyt said. "Obviously, she had done her research and was able to defend what she thought might work better."
The eighth-grader turns 14 on Friday and will meet with city workers next week to tour the park and discuss ways to implement her suggestions.
Langford said the city's youngest employee would earn her money by planning improvements in Ensley Park and possibly other city parks. Raven said she's ready to get started.
"I don't have a problem with that because, if I didn't want to work, I wouldn't have started it in the first place," she said.