Members of the Carnie Welch Post, its Auxiliary, and its Sons of the American Legion (SAL) want to let 11th grade students, their parents, school counselors, and those interested in sponsoring them know that we will begin to visit and provide needed information about the Oklahoma American Legion Boys State and Oklahoma American Legion Auxiliary Girls State. This will include those 11th grade students who are in accredited home-schooling, provided they contact us.
We will be providing not only information about what happens at Boys State and Girls State, but the sponsorship codes needed to apply through the online forms. If a student or their parent fills out the forms without the sponsorship codes, the tuition for these events will be expected to be paid by that individual.
Each year, our post seeks out our previous sponsors and anyone who wants to start sponsoring students. These individuals and businesses are how we are able to pay for the students to attend. We do ask for a deposit, which is returned once the student completes the event.
Most people think that these events only cover how the different levels of government work. This is taught, but the students hold elections for positions at each level of government.
There are other activities held which are separate from government functions (talent shows, some sports, and other activities). We will also show photos and a video or two of things which have happened in recent years.
Students have chances to earn scholarships for college and some college credits. A number of students we have helped in the past have received scholarships, which in certain cases developed into larger amounts after mentioning they have attended these events.
In recent years, you may have seen in our local newspapers articles about some of the students who attended either Boys State or Girls State ending up having full college and graduate college scholarships, which pretty much covered everything needed for reaching their degrees.
A number of past students either said that they really didn’t want to go or thought that it would be boring. Most of them said that they ended up enjoying the experience and made new friends, which they feel they will have for life.
Not all who attended these events in the past became involved in any level of government or entered the military. Several became business owners, doctors and lawyers. There are several business owners in Sequoyah County who attended either Boys State or Girls State.
We hope to have a couple of them also speak to the students about their experiences.
Before the end of each event, there will be two individuals from Boys State and two from Girls State to represent Oklahoma at Boys National and Girls National. These individuals will have a chance to visit sites at our nation’s capital and possibly meet people from congress and the senate.
Sequoyah County has been noticed in recent years for the number of students attending each year. We can only send so many, depending on what our sponsors give, but that number can range between 10 to 20 students for each event, which turns out to be more students that are sent from larger posts within the state.
For those students and parents who are in accredited homeschooling programs, you can send us an email with your name, phone number, and other information to americanlegionoklahomapost27@ gmail.com. We are looking forward to speaking to everyone interested in Boys State and Girls State.
