From climate change to police brutality to political unity, teenagers are looking to the new presidential administration to bring about change on a whole host of issues that will affect their generation. Ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs reached out to middle and high school students across the country to hear directly from them about their hopes for the new administration. Here are a few highlights from the students. Check out the full video for more!

"I think your main mission in your first 100 days of office should be uniting us. I see your presidency as a ray of hope, especially after these past four years. It also makes me happy that you're inspiring young girls all across the nation that they too can be VP or president, and they can do anything they set their mind to. So you’re a real inspiration for young women across the United States, especially to me."
—Ellie Cagle, Green Hill High School, Lebanon, TN

"I'm a first-generation American. The recent changes [for] DREAMers and immigration in general makes me a little unsure of how things will end up in the future for us. For a country so based on the ideals of freedom and, literally, immigration, we seem to be so afraid of people who are different, and I just generally hope that this country can regain a sense of unity during your term."
—Janice Aragon, Brentwood High School, New York

"I hope that while you are in office, you begin to address the issue of inequitable education in America. Education is so fundamental to the success of the individuals, the community and the country as a whole. But unfortunately, not all kids are getting the academic opportunities and resources that they need to be successful. I've seen too many of my peers falling behind because of their socioeconomic backgrounds or even their mental health, and it's not fair."
—Sonal Prakash, Dominion High School, Sterling, VA

"I just want you to know that the injustice in this country is utterly horrendous. Black people have been in this country for over four hundred years. They built this country and are still being murdered out on the streets and lynched. And there is no justice. I hope you acknowledge that the LGBTQ+ community is also under attack. I am too young to be worrying if I will die. I'm too young to be worrying if my friends will die. I don't want to come home one day and find out that my friend was lynched. I don't want to go to school and be afraid that someone's going to pull out a gun and kill us."
—Nyla Lassiter, McCallum High School, Austin, TX

"I hope you guys can first and foremost eliminate the issue of COVID in our country; you accelerate the vaccine, as Trump said he's doing, to deliver it as fast as possible. Continue to bring money back to middle-class families, continue to raise the poor out of unemployment and back into jobs in our country. Continue on Trump's trend of job growth and tax cuts."
—Daniel Phillips, Haldane High School, Cold Spring, NY

Watch We the Young People: Teen Inauguration Special on Wednesday, January 20 at 7pm on WORLD Channel.