This year I attended the American Legion's Boys' State program held at Eastern Illinois University. I attended last year as a participant. This year I was on the complete opposite side of the spectrum as an assistant counselor. Everything from last year's session was different.
Boys' State is a weeklong camp for boys entering their senior year of high school. Throughout the week, participants (called citizens) learn about the United States and its form of government, but in a way that makes it more interesting than a typical classroom setting. There are sports teams at the camp and tournaments for each. It is set up where the camp is run by the citizens. Premier Boys' State is a mythical 51st State of the U.S. Each floor of a dorm building is a city; every three floors is a county. All of the counties combined make up the state. Citizens run for city, county, and statewide positions such as comptroller, senator, and even governor. Citizens who attend Premier Boys' State learn hands-on that their strongest power as a citizen of the United States is voting.
Last year, I wasn't fully sure I even wanted to attend Premier Boys' State. Six days away from my friends where I learn about government just didn't sound like my type of music. The first day of the week was one of the longest; I had to settle into a dorm room and meet my roommate, plus learn the rules of the camp and try my best at remembering the names of everyone in my city. It took until about Monday for me to start enjoying myself - it took a while for me to figure out everyone's name and befriend people, but after that the week was amazing. I ran for city treasurer - but lost to someone else - and served as an Election Official for my city. I also took the Leadership 101 Class taught by former college President Lou Henken. The class was my favorite part of the week. The university's ROTC program featured several leadership courses for us to go through - one of them involved an imaginary field stripped with land-mines; one person from each team had to walk through the field while blindfolded, capture their team's flag, and return from the field without stepping on any mines. As the week drew to a close, we all had to somehow keep in touch with each other. MySpace and Facebook took care of that.
Since I attended the 74th session last year, I was able to return in 2010 as an assistant counselor. I arrived at EIU on Friday night June 4. We were fed a steak dinner and then attended a few sessions about counseling, what we can do, and what we can't do. I learned that I was going to be an assistant city counselor for Sanzotta City in Conatser County. My city was on the ninth floor, which I wasn't too fond of, being afraid of heights. I was also our county's soccer coach, even though I'd never played soccer before in my life. Being on the counseling staff as opposed to a citizen like last year was completely different. Instead of the white shirt with the blue athletic shorts as a Class A uniform, I got a navy polo and a hat, and could wear whatever pair of shorts or pants I wanted. Waking up at 6:15 every morning was optional, unlike being a citizen. I had a room to myself instead of sharing it with a roommate. I was helping to facilitate the city meetings instead of voting on laws or who would be elected the Premier Boys' State Governor. Last year I was a citizen at Boys' State. This year I was an assistant counselor, which I thought was better on several levels. In fact, I consider the week I was an assistant counselor at Boys' State to be one of the best weeks of my entire life.
My parents are Vicki and John (Mike) Meyerholz, and they're both thrilled that I'm having fun being a part of Boys' State. This fall I'm attending Lake Land and studying English; afterwards I want to become an English teacher and stay in the area.
I highly recommend Premier Boys' State to any incoming senior with an interest in government or law. There are also many other opportunities at Boys' State rather than just learning about the United States; there are several $1500 scholarship opportunities for citizens, plus literally hundreds of friendships to be made, and sports to play. Also, attending Premier Boys' State looks excellent on college, scholarship, and job applications. The American Legion will fully sponsor those interested in the program, so the camp is basically free for you! I would like to thank the Teutopolis American Legion for asking me to attend and sponsoring my citizenship at the 74th American Legion Illinois Premier Boys' State session, which sparked my interest in government. Without their help, I would not have met all of the people I did, learned all of the information I did, or developed into the person I am today.
