Boy's State - 2015
C/MAJ Trent and C/2LT Rasberry traveled to Tennessee Tech University during the summer of 2015 to participate at the prestigious Boy's State. The program is the highest rated out of all 48 programs held at various states. Below are some words from each cadet regarding the experience. The State of Tennessee Adjutant General, Major General Max Haston, arrived in his helicopter to speak to us. At the end of his awesome speech, he called for his 'counter part' to come on stage. Major General Haston presented his Commander's Coin to C/MAJ Trent, who was also awarded the American Legion Citizenship award. C/MSG Rasberry was awarded a $1,000 scholarship and a chance to be one of the 10 finalists for a $20,000 scholarship. Both Cadets stated that they "had a fantastic time at Boy's State and recommend the experience to everyone.
C/MAJ Trent -
"Boys State was undoubtably the best program I have ever attended. Six hundred Juniors from all over Tennessee attended. We were broken down into cities of 50 and counties of 150 (three cities to a county). Similar to a platoon in the Army, you ate, marched, and slept with your City. Rasberry was assigned to Loring City, and I was sent to Lahiere. The speed in which we made friends was incredible. Everyone played sports, and mine was Tennis. Each City competed in competitions, and I competed in Doubles Tennis with Walker. Walker looked exactly like Iceman from the movie Top Gun, so he went by it. I was dubbed "Sparky" because I told my City about my failure to light fires at JCLC. The other teams liked the idea of nick names by the end of the camp almost all the Tennis players had crazy names. Drill was taught to everyone as Cities marched to meals, activities, speeches, ext. My City alone had five Battalion Commanders so expertise was not in short supply. I ran for several positions and was elected the following: County Chairman, Head of Hildebrand County and Lahiere City Clerk. My greatest honor was being selected as Adjutant General. My role was to oversee all Drill and Military ceremonies, and command the Pass and Review. |
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C/MSG Rasberry - "Boy's State was about a lot more than running for pretend positions and learning about the government; Boy's State was meant to be an experience that gives you an opportunity to positively shape your character in a way that can't be found anywhere else. At Boy's State, I ran for Governor. We were split into two political parties of 300, the Jacksonians being the one I was a part of. I campaigned and made speeches for Governor against 15 other people, and I ended up placing 2nd in my party. Considering that the candidate for the other party lost by a landslide to our candidate, I can hypothesize that I got 2nd place in my party's running. Following the loss, I was appointed Director of Planning by my mayor. On a bright note, I was awarded a major scholarship by Samsung. Out of more than 1500 applicants, I was one of 89 who won $1000 and a chance to be one of 10 finalists for $20,000. I also got a fancy plaque. Boy's State was a great experience, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested to go in the future."
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