A group of local young people, including two high school students from Jasper, had the opportunity to meet with Canadian broadcasting legend Peter Mansbridge in Hinton on Oct. 5 and pick his brain about politics, society, careers and life in general.

“We were a little bit intimidated because he’s such an iconic figure but it was a good experience,” Ayoumi Nayak, a Grade 10 student at Jasper High School, said after she and seven other youths wrapped up their 40-minute discussion with the chief correspondent of CBC News.

Organizers with Leadership West Yellowhead invited Mansbridge to come to Hinton to speak with the students, who qualified for the opportunity by writing essays on what they thought the biggest issues facing Canadians are today. Mansbridge also spoke to a much larger, paying audience of hundreds at the Hinton Centre later in the evening as part of Community Futures West Yellowhead’s regional celebration.

Nayak earned her seat at the small table with Mansbridge by writing an essay on the impacts of air pollution on overall well being. She said she got the idea after travelling to large urban centres like New Delhi, India, and Manilla, Philippines, and seeing the difference in air quality compared to Jasper.

“We’re so used to having clean air and clean water that when we go to cities, only then does it occur to us that there’s so much pollution and how it affects people,” she said.

Mikyla Sherlow, a Grade 11 student at Jasper High School who is also a contributor to the Fitzhugh, wrote her essay about young people needing a stronger voice in society.

“If youth are the leaders of today and the leaders of tomorrow, then shouldn’t we be the ones helping to make the decisions that affect us?” Sherlow said. “There are many things that adults are doing that can make a difference but youth can also make a difference if you listen to them and let their voices be heard.”

Mansbridge agreed with that sentiment and said it was “encouraging” to meet young people who are so passionate about their beliefs and want to share their opinions with others.

“It’s wonderful to have that kind of drive that inserts you into the debates and the issues that confront us all,” he said. “That’s how the leaders of tomorrow develop. You’ve got to be interested in what’s going on.”

Mansbridge talked for a while with the students about their essay topics, but also invited them to ask him questions about anything and everything.

“I’ve asked a lot of questions over my time and I’ve always felt in my job that there are no bad questions,” he said. “Any question that elicits an answer that furthers one’s understanding of anything is a good question. So don’t be shy.”

After some initial hesitation, the young people began putting some pointed queries to the experienced broadcaster.

“I was just wondering, in your opinion, if you think it’s better to go for a job that gets you lots of money or a job where you’re happy,” asked Riley Bertoncini, a student from Hinton.

“You’ll all confront that question in your lives ... and different people have different views on this. My view has always been that it’s not about the money. You’ve got to make your decisions based on ... how you see your life developing on all fronts, not just your job – your personal life, where you want to bring up a family, what your spouse’s interests may be – all these things,” Mansbridge replied. “When you make it solely on the money, you’re leaving a lot of other things out.”

To add emphasis to his point, Mansbridge cited a personal example.

“There was one point in my career where I was offered five times what I was making to move to another country to do a similar job and, you know, I was extremely tempted,” he said. “I ended up saying no and a lot of people thought I was crazy. But I’ve never regretted it.”

Nayak took that opportunity to probe a little deeper.

“In your life,” she said to Mansbridge, “do you actually regret anything?”

He thought about it for a moment before replying.

“Look, I haven’t done everything right in my life, but I don’t have any deep regrets,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot from what I’ve witnessed. There are things I’d do differently today than I would’ve done 20 years ago ... because of what I’ve learned over time. That doesn’t make it wrong what I did then, but I know I’d do it differently now. So that’s not the same as regret but you’re always learning about life, about how best to deal with certain issues that confront you.”

Nayak later said she was satisfied with that response.

“I think it was really honest because a lot of people say, ‘Oh I don’t have any regrets,’” she said. “But ultimately everyone does have regrets or, if not regrets, they’d go back and change things.”

Sherlow said she was particularly encouraged by Mansbridge’s advice to put job satisfaction ahead of money.

“Our parents always tell us do whatever you want, whatever makes you happy, but you’re kind of like: ‘They’re my parents; they’re supposed to say that.’ But when it comes to someone so iconic and so influential on Canada, it’s kind of a nice feeling to know that’s what you should be doing,” she said.

After his discussion with the students, Mansbridge said he hoped they and young people like them across the country will continue to bring their passion and ideas forward, participate in the national discourse and consider taking leadership positions in politics.

“Those are the kind of people you need in public office,” he said. “There are a lot of big decisions facing the country in the years ahead and you want bright young people to be at the forefront of that decision making.”