Naperville American Legion sends 22 students to Girls and Boys State

Nearly two dozen Naperville young people are participating in weeklong programs that provide future leaders with hands-on experiences with both the theory and the practice of government, thanks to Naperville American Legion Post 43.

Cmdr. Priscilla Laubscher said the post is paying enrollment and transportation costs for 12 young women at “Girls State” from Sunday to Saturday, June 17 to 23, at Eastern Illinois University and 10 young men in “Boys State” Saturday to Friday, June 9 to 15, at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

All participants will be high school seniors in the fall.

“Once again, American Legion members Lauren Evans and Terrence Jelenik have done superb jobs organizing and coordinating our post’s sponsorship of the participation of local students in Illinois’ Girls State and Boys State,” said Laubscher, a former senior naval officer.

“As veterans, we’re proud to continue to serve this great nation of ours in this very important way.”

Neuqua Valley students attending Boys State are Kevin Wei, Andrew McKissick, Justin Klein and Mark Gaughan. Naperville North students attending Boys State are Sean VanDril, Daniel Sims and Austin Ray. Benet Academy students attending Boys State are Christian Yon, Keegan Madden and Peter Butler.

Neuqua Valley students attending Girls State are Kimberly Liv, Linda Jiangrand, Christie Jeung, Akhila Gopal and Halay Evans. Benet Academy students attending Girls State are Courtney Oei and Maura Dore. Also attending Girls State are Claire Halffield from Naperville Central, Marianne Duran from Waubonsie Valley, Samantha Hilger from St. Francis, Anna Ding from Metea Valley, and Rianka Macwan, who is home-schooled.

Students interested in attending 2013 Girls State are invited to visit www.ilala.org/igs/index.html or to contact Lauren Evans at (630) 904-7578. Students interested in Boys State are invited to visit www.illinoisboysstate.org or to contact Terrence Jelinek at (630) 357-5366.