By Michelle McKenna
Staff Writer
The American Legion announced the Mira Costa winners for Boys State and Girls State last week.
Juniors Jack Hadley and Jackson Webster won the Boys State selections, and junior Hannah James won for Girls State. Participants are exposed through mock government to the various rights, duties and responsibilities of U.S. citizens.
“I’m honored to be nominated,” Webster said. “I look forward to the opportunity to spend an entire week learning about a field which greatly interests me.”
The other Boys State nominees were Carter Casady, Brian Sydow, Isaac Siegemund-Broka, Adam Gerard and Brady Currey, and the other Girls State nominees were Sarah Locke-Henderson, Kara Enomoto, Morgan Livingston and Joani Gillam.
“I was excited to be nominated,” Locke-Henderson said. “There were four other amazing candidates, so it was an honor.”
These Mira Costa juniors were chosen by the History Department, specifically Bill Fauver, Gregory Kloes and Bob Timberlake. The candidates were nominated based on their many academic strength, leadership potential and interest in the United States government.
“Every year it’s tough to try to whittle it down so as always, this year’s group is a great group,” Fauver said. “It is a solid group of people that love history and love politics. They are very articulate and should do very well.”
College and Career Center counselors Gail Currey and Katherine Folkman are Boys and Girls State representatives for Costa.
“It is a really big honor,” Folkman said. “This year’s nominees are all strong candidates, very nice kids and very well-spoken. I don’t think we could go wrong with any of them.”
A representative from the American Legion interviewed each nominee and ultimately decided who will participate in the week-long event. Boys State takes place at Sacramento State University, and Girls State takes place at Claremont College.
“I’m excited because I think it will be cool being surrounded by other like-minded guys, learning about what made our country great,” Hadley said.
Finalists that do well at Boys or Girls State can be nominated by their peers to advance to the nationwide competitions, Boys Nation and Girls Nation, in Washington, D.C., where they will act as their state’s senators.
“It is a really great program that has been going on for a really long time,” Fauver said. “It is one of the highest honors a student can receive.”
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