Seifert-Bianchi American Legion Post 132 sponsored four local boys to attend Boys State June 11-17th at St. John’s University in Collegeville. (L-R) Joey Kotten Gaven Schaffer Landon Klawitter and Ben Blomberg.

NEW ULM — High school students Joey Kotten, Gavin Schaefer, Ben Blomberg, and Landon Klawitter recently had the opportunity to represent New Ulm at the 74th American Legion Boys State of Minnesota event as delegates.

Accompanying them were last year’s Boys State participants, Nathaniel Janssen, and Mitchell Schotzko, along with Joe Schotzko. The three assisted Boys State as counselors.

The 2023’s Boys State began on June 11 and went through the week, wrapping up on June 17. The event took place at St. John’s University Campus in Collegeville, Minnesota.

Boys State is a week-long program, aimed at educating the participants on various aspects of government.

Throughout the week, over 200 delegates took part in lectures, debates and elections, along with team bonding activities such as athletics and chorus.

“Boys State varied every day,” Kotten said, “We learned how city, county, and state governments work along with how to write bills and follow parliamentary procedure.”

Much of the time was spent learning about the three forms of government through a variety of presentations.

“Some of the speakers were former state senators, former Supreme Court members, and plenty of other important people,” Schaffer said.

One of the primary focuses of Boys State was participation, much of which came during the debates throughout the week.

“My favorite part of boys state was when the county was together and we were being successful in the debate over certain issues,” Schaffer said. “One main issue that we were successful in debating was the issue of where to allocate our budget and surplus as a county. It went very smoothly and was very interesting to hear everyone’s different perspectives on different issues.”

The counselors played a different role than the delegates who were listening to the lectures and taking part in the debates.

“Boys State starts with an orientation day, but after this day is when the real stuff starts,” Jannsen said. “Day 1 is schools of instruction, which teach the delegates about parliamentary procedure, local government, advocacy, and the legislative process. Day 2 is when they begin organizing into cities, counties, and parties, and then the rest of the week we let the delegates run with what they’ve learned and create their own state government.”

“As a delegate, you have little idea of what’s about to happen, but as a counselor you know what the programming looks like,” Mitchell Schotzko said. “What’s interesting is how the delegates take the ideas and tasks they are challenged with and make them their own, in ways that other delegates of years past might not have considered.”

Although Janssen and Mitchell Schotzko had attended Boys State previously as delegates, they still learned a lot.

“Being a counselor to a program as rigorous as Boys’ State takes a physical and mental toll, and teaches you a lot about yourself in the process. I also had to relearn a lot of the stuff I had forgotten since my time as a delegate to the program,” Schotzko said.

Every participant in Boys State, whether delegate or counselor, took something away from the program.

Kotten and Blomberg highlighted the bonding aspect of Boys State.

“My favorite part was singing in the Boys State Chorus, with 70 other talented singers from Minnesota,” Kotten said.

“My favorite part of Boys State was getting to meet and network with like-minded individuals,” Blomberg said.

Jannsen credited Boys State for helping him push toward his goals.

“Perhaps my biggest takeaway from Boys State was newfound ambition. Before the program, I really wouldn’t have had a chance at a lot of my loftier life goals, such as attending a top 20 college and law school. After the program, I realized that no goal is ever out of reach and that I could achieve anything I worked hard for,” Janssen said.

“[Boys State is a] great program for boys to learn about government, themselves, teamwork, and life,” Joe Schotzko said.

For those interested in supporting Boys State, the brat stand will be run by the American Legion on July 30 and July 31 to support the Boys State program.