Reflections on MGA Day and Advocacy Day

Reflections on MGA Day and Advocacy Day

By Niles Ayer-YMCA Arlington-Woodlawn

This past December, The Arlington YMCA Hosted an “MGA Day” at the Westover Baptist Church. The event was attended by Bishop O’Connell, H-B Woodlawn, Washington-Lee, Wakefield, and Yorktown High Schools. Delegate Rip Sullivan and Senator Barbara Favola attended and critiqued bills that were proposed in groups. The group session was followed by a question and answer session with Favola, Sullivan, and others. This was then followed by advocacy day in Washington DC where students had the opportunity to speak to congressmen and women about the issues they wish to be addressed.

David McCurdy, a Senator from Faith Christian School, was asked about his thoughts on Advocacy Day. His response was “I believe the advocacy day program was a very well-run program. Advocacy Day really allowed me to understand the issues that are pertinent, not just to the Commonwealth of Virginia, but to the YMCA. That was really eye-opening for me because it allowed me to realize that there are issues that affect the YMCA. It was an honor for me to lobby for those causes.”

While asked about how Advocacy Day could be improved, David replied, “I really don’t think so. I felt really prepared for elevator speeches, from the day we talked with different delegates to different senators. I felt as though we were prepared for what we would be doing, when would we be doing it, and how to properly execute our task.”  

David McCurdy, Senator from Faith Christian School.

When asked how Advocacy Day prepared David for MGA, David responded “I definitely felt prepared. We didn’t have any scheduled meetings, so we were running from representative, to senator, to delegate. We would ask if we could have one minute of their time. Sometimes they said no, sometimes they said yes, and sometimes they said leave a phone number and come back. That really helped because the first delegate we spoke to, asked us to wait a while. We were a little bit nervous sitting there, but then we realized that they want to hear from us and they want to hear what we want to say.”

Tommy Dannenfelser, the Youth Governor from Bishop O’Connell High School, was asked about his thoughts on MGA Day. He Replied, “MGA Day was really great. We were really productive and it got students excited for the MGA process ”. On how MGA Day could be improved, he responded: “What students can do to make the most of it is to be prepared with questions. It was lacking a little bit at MGA Day this year, so just coming up with questions and information is really helpful.” When asked how MGA Day prepared them for Richmond, Governor Dannenfelser remarked, “We discussed a handful of bills that then went on to being discussed at the actual MGA, including the legalization of marijuana.”