“I felt like I was in the right position at the right time by being fresh out of the school system,” he said. “I feel like I can bring a valuable perspective to the table.”
He said his grandparents served in the military, and he has always been interested in public service. McCormick served as “Honorary Treasurer for a Day” in Montgomery County treasurer John McManus’ office in March 2024 shortly before he graduated high school.
“I felt like this is a way to give back to our country, our nation, our state, and our community here in Riverside,” McCormick said of his recent election. “That — coupled with my experience as a student and my love for this community — that’s why I chose to run for Mad River board of education.”
McCormick said he knew his youth would be a drawback for some voters, and began campaigning in May 2025, well before the election.
“Once they started hearing (that) sometimes the student voice isn’t as represented as we’d like it to be, and not just here, but everywhere,” McCormick said. “A school district has one main constituent and that’s your students.”
A handful of local schools have non-voting students as advisory members of their school board, including Northmont and Dayton Public. But most school board members are either parents or otherwise have been involved in a district as an adult for years before running for election.
However, McCormick isn’t the only local teen who ran for and won an election in November. An 18-year-old Miami University student, Benjamin Nguyen, was recently sworn in as a school board member at Lakota Local Schools.
McCormick’s top concerns include how the district can use large language model artificial intelligence to help students prepare for graduation, and ensuring the district’s career technical programs continue to prepare students.
McCormick went through Stebbins’ economics and finance career tech programs while in high school and said he felt the program covered many of the topics he is being taught in college.
“I’m an entire semester ahead thanks to that two-year course at Stebbins,” McCormick said.
He encouraged current high school students to take advantage of career technical programming. Mad River’s career tech programs include HVAC, manufacturing and construction programs that often connect high school students to local companies. Due to those programs, McCormick said many of his peers graduated high school with well-paying jobs.
McCormick is currently attending the University of Dayton and majoring in business administration with a minor in political science. He works as an assistant manager at Five Below.
He plans to continue a career in public service as long as he can alongside a career in business.
He encouraged others who might be interested to run for public office.
“If you have a passion for others, you should do it,” he said.
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