Saturday, June 11, 2016
The 75th session of Badger Boys State began with young men from throughout Wisconsin arriving at Ripon College where they began with a short orientation as they went through the registration process. Here, Counselor Tom gives the citizens a brief overview about the week they’re embarking on.
After registration, the citizens arrived at their respective dorms—called “counties”—and found out which “city” they’d be a part of. Here, a counselor checks in a citizen and provides him with information he’ll need for the week.
After they were done registering, the citizens wasted no time being able to get to know one another while playing games. Throughout the week, the citizens will be able to participate in various sports or swim at the pool.
Before and after dinner, the citizens meetings to help them better understand the structure for the week and how they’ll be able to run for various positions on the city, county and state levels.
An important part of every day is ending on a good note with a general assembly. This is where all the citizens congregate to hear top-notch speakers and find out more about how the government—and the people within it—interact. Here, citizens listen to one of the night’s speakers.
Gary Williams, PhD, county counselor in Dodge, pictured here, was the keynote speaker at the first general assembly. Gary encouraged the citizens to step outside of their comfort zone and “take the leap” at being a leader.