Schools

10 Warren Students Tapped for Boys/Girls State Honors

Cody Chen-Shao serves as Girls State Public Health Commissioner during conference.

Submitted by Ellie Mathews

Sixteen members of Watchung Hills Regional High School’s Class of 2014 were selected to participate in a citizenship experience that has been going strong for over seventy years: Boys State and Girls State. 

Across the nation, these citizenship events have been offering motivated youth the opportunity to put into actual practice their leadership skills and  their  know-how and knowledge of civic affairs in a realistic, hands-on fashion while at  the same time teaching them how to put their leadership skills into actual practice.

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Eleven Hills juniors attended Boys State, held from June 16 to 19 at Rider University in Lawrenceville. Among some 700 attendees were: Matt Celeste, of Watchung; Greg Rizzo, JP Gavin, Jack Ciraulo, Josh Voorhees, David Mupo and Max Kabot of Warren; Akshay Katakam of Green Brook; Justin Strnatko and Seneca Velling of Millington, and Nick Malinowsky of Gillette.

Juniors attending Girls State were Engy Gadelmawla of Watchung; Julia Sofo, Cody Chen-Shao, Shelly Luong, and Alyssa Puccio of Warren. They were among some 350 young women from across the state who convened from June 22 to 27 at Georgian Court University.

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The plan for citizenship practicums for motivated young people in every state originated with the American Legion in 1936 with the founding of Boys State.  Girls State was a later development. Both events strive to teach young people the duties, rights and responsibilities of American citizenship in an authentic fashion. 

The first step in the process is to select motivated students who are finishing their junior year, young persons who have maintained a B average, who have demonstrated leadership ability, who have been active in clubs, student government, athletics, community and volunteer organizations, and who are able to communicate effectively. 

The basic idea has remained the same over the decades. Bring them together  from all parts of the state to a college campus which has been transformed into a mythical 51st state, and then teach them to use the process by which they will govern themselves. The citizenship event is a teaching experience that does not use traditional methods such as textbooks, lectures, quizzes, but, instead, depends on hands-on participation in the democratic process.

After the youths’ applications were screened by Watchung Hills administrators earlier in the year, the candidates were interviewed and then selected by the   sponsoring organizations which may include such organizations as: Warren Township’s American Legion Post 293 and its Women’s Auxiliary and Long Hill Township’s American Legion Post 484. 

Additional funds for the students’ stay, if needed, are  donated by the Green Brook Board of Education, the Warren-Watchung Rotary Club, the Lions Club of Warren/Watchung, BPOE Elks 2252 of Warren, BPOE 2392, Stirling, and similar organizations interested in youth development.

Just as the same ingredients have gone into the making of the two citizenship events over these decades, so have the essentials of the event remained similar. The participants work at learning civics by actually putting into practice the fundamentals of government and democracy they’ve been learning over the years in their social studies courses.  

As they arrive, each youth is assigned to one of two fictional political parties and to a city in an imaginary state. Politicking begins at once and increases in intensity as the week progresses. Delegates organize into city, county, and state governments. They write party platforms, they caucus, campaign for elected positions, rally for their candidates at the various levels; they make and debate legislation, and more.

Some delegates will get elected to office, an experience which helps motivate young persons to become alert, informed and active citizens in their home communities

Those not elected will fill appointive positions, where there is plenty of opportunity to experience political workings at many levels. Yet, getting elected is not the major goal of these citizenship training events: the process of getting there is, and it is a process which seeks to reinforce the principles of American government and which helps motivate young persons to become alert, informed and active citizens in their home communities.   

They all get practice speaking before groups. All get to know young people from other parts of the state and from diverse backgrounds. Some may even be elected to represent New Jersey on a higher level, such as Boys Nation, a national convention which takes place in Washington, D.C. during the summer, and some will even run for political office in their mature years. (Several presidents  are among this number.)

Nick Malinowsky, who is already involved in  leadership activities in his home community of Gillette, was elected to the “State Senate” of Boys State, had a chance to  participate in law-making, and saw “how difficult it is to pass legislation.” 

Nevertheless, his group passed 12 bills, which is more than has ever been achieved at Boys State. He is a Peer Leader at Watchung Hills, is working on his Eagle Scout project in Long Hill, and looks forward to attending this year’s session at the National Youth Leadership Training Camp (Winnebago).

Cody Chen-Shao also was elected to serve in several capacities at Girls State, among them, Public Health Commissioner and Clerk for the County Freeholder She also praised her experience for having helped her “become a better public speaker” and for encouraging her to "take more chances.” 

As ever, this year’s contingent left the experience vastly enriched, alert, motivated—young citizens, not only of their school communities, but of their neighborhoods as well.


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