By Aly Miranda
Three male students and two female students went to the American Legion’s Boys and Girls State programs held at The University of Texas at Austin in June. These five students learned about how government starts and what goes on as someone in the government.
“Boys State is a very unique cooperation and at first, it was all very hectic, but once we were all broken in, it was then easier to understand,” senior ETA student, Rey Zamora said.
Christian Aguilar, Quaylan Webb and Zamora were the three boys chosen to attend the Boys State for seven days and participated in mock government activities and even learned how to vote for others, and run for certain positions in government. Kimberly Alix and Calypso Rynkowski were the two girls chosen to attend Girls State.
“I learned a lot about my country. I have more pride in what I do and who I am and overall, it was a great experience for me,” Rynkowski, a senior DATA student, said. “It was also great to be in a different environment while meeting new people with a different perspective than I [have].”
These five students went through a lot just to be chosen for Boys and Girls State. After completing an application, select finalists were interviewed by a panel of the American Legion. In the interview, the main thing is the student explaining why he or she would like to attend Boys or Girls State. If the panel of American Legion approves of certain students, they then choose them and notify them through the mail.
“It’s a huge deal for these kids. It’s a major call for University and it’s a favorable part of their resume when applying for college or university,” Col. Robert Foutz said.
This program, for both boys and girls, is sponsored by the American Legion, just so students who are interested in government can experience elections and government work. They even have the chance to meet the sheriff or mayor, if that student is running for that position.
“Going here really helped me talk and create a connection with people so easily, which I thought I would never be able to do,” Webb, a senior DATA student, said. “It really was a crazy, hectic, fun, one of a kind experience.”
