At first, local soon-to-be-senior Burklee Jackson was nervous to attend his first session of Boys State of Kansas this summer, but by the end of it, he was ready to represent Kansas at Boys Nation later this summer. According to Burklee, the nerves he felt about attending the selective program began to melt away through the week as he met more people and learned more and more about civic duties.
“I'm really excited to meet new people and see how different people are from other states, because, so far, the most I've seen is from my own state,” Burklee said. “I've gotten a lot of perspectives just from my state, so it's crazy to think about what I'll get from other states.”
Boys State of Kansas is a week-long civic engagement program from the American Legion to develop governmental understanding from local seats to even national-level positions in Boys Nation. That's Burklee's next stop, since his peers elected him and Kansas City, Kan. Washington High School's soon-to-be-senior Alexis Zamora Reyes as senators for the national program.
Before Burklee takes off for Marymount University's campus in Arlington, Va., he's taken some time to reflect on his experience with Boys State of Kansas and how much it taught him about the governmental process. From speeches to convincing voters to suits involving governmental agencies, Burklee experienced it all.
“One by one, you'd give your speech, like a 30 to 60-second speech on why you think you should be the senator representing your city, or the mayor or the city council,” Burklee said. “Since you didn't know any of these guys, you just have to have the courage to get up and talk to a bunch of people you don't know.”
Although he was nervous for Boys State of Kansas, those uneasy feelings melted away through Burklee's experience getting elected as county attorney and representing his fellow officials through suits and other conflicts. Burklee said that due to his venture at the state level, he's excited for what will come at the national level.
Burklee said he will be representing Boys State of Kansas as a senator, alongside 98 other boys who each represent their own state. There are only 98 senators for the program instead of 100 since Hawaii does not have a Boys State program.
“You might be with your other senator, but you might be with the guy from the region,” Burklee said. “So I might be with somebody who's from Minnesota or Michigan; I'm kind of hoping for that, but I'd be fine with both.”
While July approaches quickly, Burklee and his fellow senator are preparing by discussing the various bills they plan to bring to Boys Nation and introduce for consideration. That will be the most significant task for Burklee and Alexis, alongside elections for president and vice president. There will also be periods where chaperones will take participants to see historic locations and meet the acting senators of today.
Burklee said he's excited to not only have the experience of Boys Nation but also the chance to meet others who have participated in the program and the real-life senators that the program is based on. With the local American Legion behind all of this work, Burklee said he's thankful for this opportunity to strengthen multiple skills, including leadership, integrity, resilience and more.
