Senior Thomas Aitken attends Boys State.

By: Charlie Rottinghaus

On June 2, senior Thomas Aitken attended Boys State in Lincoln for two weeks. Boys State is a week long experience on the UNL campus that teaches boys about the state and local levels of government. While you are there you can run for any political office you want and give speeches to your peers.

To attend Boys State, Aitken had to fill out an application from the American Legion post. Boys state takes applications from many areas around Nebraska and 400 applicants can go. Only two applicants are chosen from each town. “Boys State has kids from every corner of Nebraska, leading to many different personalities,” said Aitken. “We stayed in UNL dorms and were separated into groups by floors, my floor was called Belleau Wood.”

While Aitken was there, many guest speakers attended the week long event including the governor of Nebraska, Jim Pillen. During the two weeks, Aitken took pictures and wrote articles for the Boys State newspaper. He also won a position for his group’s school board, and almost won the race for the state auditor. Aitken had fun all throughout the week with his new friends from across Nebraska.

Many political leaders have attended Boys State such as Bill Clinton. All the 50 states, except Hawaii, have a Boys State just like the one in Nebraska. “I learned a lot about the political process and how difficult it can be,” said Aitken. Boys State has a deep impact on most of its attendees and is more than just a week long get away.

Aitken had an exciting time at Boys State and learned a lot. “My favorite part had to have been the friends I made. We spent the whole week together and had many emotional experiences together,” said Aitken. “You will meet people from all over Nebraska and make many friends. I loved the group I was and still talk to them this day.” Boys State is an exclusive experience that will help you learn about the government and what goes on inside it, and you make friends along the way.