June marks the beginning of summer vacation for students across the country, a much needed break from monotonous school work. However, simultaneously an urge for politics and action begins to brew: Boys and Girls State programs run by the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary, respectively. Rising Seniors from all 50 states gather on local college campuses to build a functioning state government from the ground up, using only each other as resources.
This summer Missouri Boys State (MBS) and Missouri Girls State (MGS) sessions were held concurrently on Lindenwood University campuses from June 21-28. Over 800 boys and 800 girls from the entire state of Missouri arrive to flood the campus and engage in political discourse. These students represent the most exemplary leaders and citizens from various communities. This year, Parkway Central sent an astounding six attendees to MBS and seven attendees to MGS.
Many jobs in local, county, and state government were available to MBS and MGS attendees. Leora Dean, Senior, attended the MGS session and described the experience as fun, but stressful.
“I was very busy every day, I almost felt like I was in lockdown there,” Dean said.
Dean successfully ran for the office of State Treasurer, where she was elected by the majority of 800+ girls. In order to win, she learned how to create a campaign, write and perform a speech, and network with girls from across the state.
“I think [my experience at Girls State] will help me in the future with preparing speeches and things like that,” Dean said.
Senior Cooper Gardener also ran for a state officer position at MBS. He believes that his experience at MBS will translate to other positions in his life, such as employee interviews.
“I ran for state auditor and I had to give a speech for like 800 people,” Gardner said.
Besides the executive government, several students opted to run for a legislative office instead. Senior Armani Harris was elected to represent her city as a MGS senator, along with 31 other citizens. As a senator, Harris learned how to properly debate legislation and the ins and outs of parliamentary procedure.
Members of the Missouri Girls State General Assembly (Governors Cabinet, Senators, Representatives, and Lobbyists) had the opportunity to visit the Missouri State Capitol and debate legislation on their respective floors.
“I got to meet one of the senators in Missouri, North County Senator Moesly. We ran through one of the bills that had passed through the girls state House and debated on it ourselves. I know we had one about whether to have an ASL interpreter at any events which I thought was a very good bill,” Harris said.
MBS attendee Aiden Moon was also elected a senator during his time at the program, a position for which he holds a lot of respect.
“I really enjoyed the senate sessions where everything felt so professional and real, like we actually simulated the real Missouri government,” Moon said.
Besides working a job or holding a position, attendees of both programs had amazing opportunities to meet state and federal officials, as well as experience one of a kind things. MBS and MGS citizens attended assemblies at night during the week where they heard from speakers such as Barbra Bush, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former DNC chair Donna Brazile, and even former NASA Administrator Major General Charles Bolden. Amanda Arst was able to attend even more opportunities at Girls State.
“We got to see a naturalization ceremony, a court of appeals case, and so much more,” Arst said.
While they may not have been at school, attendees went to 2 hours of class a day and took a final at their chosen school of instruction. Senior Nolan Baird, elected treasurer of his city, attended the Local Government and Policy school of instruction where he learned more about local politics.
“There were 12 instructors that were either local mayors, or secretaries, or some sort of city position, and they taught us how to make cities run and what they did in their jobs,” Baird said.
Attendees of the school of law were required to pass a mock bar exam before being allowed to practice as an attorney. Both Senior Caleb Porter and Senior Sabeen Munir attended the law school and passed the bar exam.
“I got a job because my roommate started a law business called SEMO law, the best law firm at Boys State, and we won some cases and it was a lot of fun,” Porter said.
While all of the Parkway Central attendees appreciated their time at MBS and MGS, some members of Girls state noticed discrepancies between the two programs.
“They are sponsored by different organizations so Boys State gets exponentially more money than Girls State does, and they get much more stuff,” Munir said.
While MBS is sponsored by the American Legion, MGS is sponsored by the American Legion auxiliary. Certain staff of the boys program receive money for their time, whereas all staff of the girls program work on a volunteer basis. Munir also noted the difference in dress code and safety between the two programs, something that was echoed by Moon and Porter.
“Why were we in business casual and high heels and they were just in shorts and jeans?” Munir said.
Ultimately, all attendees gained something from this experience, whether it be new knowledge, connections, friendships, or career paths.
“I learned that I should appreciate [Senators and Representatives] more because it is a stressful position, and there is so much pressure put on these people to make laws that actually work for everyone,” Moon said.
Gardner and Baird both appreciated the more state and local approach to government, as both held city offices and attended a local policy school.
“[Missouri Boys State] was a great chance to see more about how our state government works, because we spend a lot of time in school on the federal government, and I got to meet a lot of people from across the state so that was cool as well,” Gardner said.
While the chapter ends for these seniors, next year a new batch of juniors will be nominated by the Social Studies Department to attend MBS and MGS. The Parkway Central attendees wish you the best of luck, but for now, this is Missouri Boys State in association with Missouri Girls State signing off.
Complete list of Parkway Central attendees
Amanda Arst, Juliette Crook, Leora Dean, Natalia Duvall, Armani Harris, Sabeen Munir, Cecilia Tremont
Aiden Amini, Nolan Baird, Peyton Dimmock, Cooper Gardner, Aiden Moon, Caleb Porter
***The writer of this article was also in attendance***
