For a straight week, seniors Joe Frank and Ryan Eilerman were woken up at 4:30 a.m. to clean bathrooms under the command of ex-marines. They were not in boot camp at juvenile hall, but rather at McDaniel College for the annual Maryland Boys State program.
Throughout the week of June 20-25, 2010, the two seniors learned the ins and outs of government and what it takes to lead a state.
“When I got there, I didn’t know what to expect,” Eilerman said. “We were immediately stripped of our belongings like phones and iPods, and put into groups. It was pretty much hell for the first part of the week.”
But after attending lectures, all the students were then in charge of creating their own cities, electing people as officials and appointing different positions. “My group’s city was ‘Legion City,’ and I was the chaplain. My city won best city in the state,” Eilerman said.
Frank was elected as treasurer in his group’s city, “Goldstein.”
The cities then got together and “elected legislatures and separated into different parties,” Eilerman said, who was elected as Speaker of the House in the collaborative vote.
After the week was over, the governors and lieutenant governors of the state were sent to participate in the Boys Nation program while the rest of the participants went home.
“It was a really great experience. I got to meet a lot of like-minded young men who give hope to the future of our nation,” Eilerman said.
Frank agreed with Eilerman. “It was great. I got to meet a lot of people who have the same respect [as I do] for how the system works in real life,” Frank said.
During the same week, senior Allison Walczyk along with 150 other girls from around Maryland gathered at Salisbury University to participate in the Maryland Girls State program.
Though she did not endure the same physical experience as Frank and Eilerman, the girls’ program was run relatively similarly.
“We learned about the different levels of government in the state and had the opportunity to run for offices in our state,” Walczyk said. “I was the party leader for the county and part of ‘Pleasant City.’”
Walczyk also enjoyed being a part of the program. “It was a huge opportunity to be involved in something I love about our country: government,” she said.
The three seniors were recognized for their representation of Harford County in these programs on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at the Bel Air American Legion. Each of the three students, along with others from Harford County, were presented with awards of appreciation for their dedication from Delegate J.B. Jennings and Senator Barry Glassman.