Learning the Skills to Pass the Bills

Learning the Skills to Pass the Bills

By: Kiernan Green, Faith Christian School

Model General Assembly for the first-timer can be a myriad of things: Intimidating, nerve-wracking, and exciting to name a few. When asked if they could try to describe their personal experience of MGA thus far in either one word or a short phrase, the diversity of the first-timers’ answers were astonishing. Hopefully for long-time MGA goers this article provides a little nostalgia, and for other side of the spectrum, hopefully this article helps first-time MGA goers to get rid of any sense of loneliness or isolation, if the experience itself thus far has not already.

Hendrick Younger, a Sophomore attending MGA for his first time, answered with the word interaction. Clearly this is essential to the MGA experience to anyone who has been here before. Being able to interact with students all across the commonwealth is one of the greatest experiences of MGA, being able to learn about their lives, their stories, their favorite foods, and even their favorite dinosaurs. However, also being able to interact with state government in such a real way is an incredible learning experience for everyone.

When asked to describe his experience in one word or phrase, Ryan Tremain, a Sophomore from Benedictine College Preparatory, responded with a laugh saying: “I don’t think the chair person likes me very much,” then he continued with, “No, but really it’s been great. It’s all a learning experience at the end of the day. I’ve just been having too much fun already, I love it.” When asked about why he personally decided he wanted to attend MGA he responded with a thoughtful quote: “When there’s an opportunity that comes my way, I usually almost always say yes.”

Dexter Smith, a Senior coming from Bethel High School, answered the question with the word different. Dexter went on to explain his reasoning, “I say different because difference is the reason we’re here. Everyone has a different opinion. We all have different beliefs, different ideas, different reasons why we think this should be passed. So I really think difference is the key word, everyone is different and that’s what you special.” Dexter then goes on to reminiscence about his whole experience remarking, “This whole time since we’ve arrived I’ve loved everything about it, I wish I could have another year of doing it.” When asked why he personally decided to come to MGA this year he had said, “It was a personal goal of mine to come here and meet new people to make lifelong relationships with.”

Finally, Adonis Ortiz, another Senior attending MGA for his first time from Spotswood High School, used the word life-changing. His story provides important context as to why he chose this word: In his Junior year he was selected to be part of an elite group of young men to attend Boys State, during which he ran for the position of governor. During his experience, a couple states north, Antwon Stanley II, a teenager in Pittsburg, was shot and killed in an act of police brutality. Later, a poem Antwon had written prior to his death was publicized featuring a general theme of him seeing himself heading down a dark path because of his surroundings. That poem spoke to Adonis on a personal level he explains, saying: “I related to Antwon because I moved here to Virginia from Queens, New York for that exact same reason. I saw myself going down a bad road, the people I was hanging out with, the things I was doing. It’s like I knew Antwon even though I didn’t actually know him. That’s when I knew I wanted to get involved in politics. The idea that this process actually happens and we have the possibility to change all these lives for the better is incredible.” He then described how impressed he was by how real and official MGA felt, which he said, “gave me another assurance that this is what I wanna do. My dream, end goal is to be the President one day. Going through MGA is helping me draw the bigger picture for how things get done.” Adonis used the word life-changing because MGA has inspired him to continue to pursue this government and politics. Though, he is not only speaking on how it changed his life alone, but how he hopes it can better impact and change others’ lives too on his path of politics. When asked for any final comments, Adonis answered with a smile, “Vote for me for your 2040 President.”