JSA – Junior State of America

Ten new Junior State of America Governors kicked off their term of office at the beginning of June. Get to know them all by reading about them below and clicking on their photo to watch a short video. At their first meeting together, the Council of Governors elected Tyler Pichette as Chair, Ben Reytblatt as Trustee, Winston Underwood as Treasurer, Raymond Rif as Secretary and Josh Kisbey as Development Chair. Continue Reading

Phoenix was a hot spot this week for JSA and for the State of Arizona. Forty-six Junior Staters from schools all over the state and three lucky Californians met for 4 days in the State Capitol for a front row seat for the hottest Legislative session in decades. Tempers flared at temperatures soared to over 115 degrees as Legislators haggled over expansion of Medicaid–part of ObamaCare–and their State Budget. Continue Reading

JSA announced today that the winner of the National Civic Impact Award is Plainfield High School from Plainfield, New Jersey. The National Civic Impact Award recognized the JSA chapter that has had the biggest impact on increasing the level of civic education, activism and engagement at their school and community.

Plainfield was chosen from among ten finalists, all of which had won the Chapter of the Year Award in their region of the county. A panel of judges consisting of trustees of The Junior Statesmen Foundation and JSA alumni reviewed presentations given by Chapter Presidents and other materials submitted by the finalists, leading to Plainfield’s victory. Richmond High School in Northern California was a close second.

Mr. Jeff Truitt, who has been the Teacher Advisor of the Plainfield chapter for the past 27-years, was thrilled upon hearing the news his chapter had won. “On behalf of the Plainfield Chapter, we are truly honored and grateful to have received the Junior State of America’s National Civic Impact Award. Junior State of America provides wonderful opportunity for thousands of students nationwide to grow, learn and appreciate the American political process and ultimately the value of a free and democratic society.”

In winning the award, the Plainfield chapter will receive a $2,000 grant to the chapter in order to continue their civic engagement programs in the upcoming year, a $500 stipend to the chapter’s advisor and a plaque that can be displayed in the school’s award case. Plainfield’s Chapter President, Cristian Vides was thrilled about the award, “After 27 years of the Plainfield Chapter’s existence, it is an honor to accept our first ever National Civic Impact Award. We worked countless hours, stayed in school from dawn to dusk, all for the sole purpose to fight apathy in our community, and to grow as a family.”

The other winners of the state Chapter of the Year Awards were: New Rochelle High School from New Rochelle, NY, Naples High School from Naples, FL, Danville High School from Danville, KY, John Cooper School from The Woodlands, TX, Illinois Math and Science Academy from Aurora, IL, Richmond High School from Richmond, CA, Valencia High School from Placentia, CA, Kofa High School from Yuma, AZ, and Westview High School in Portland, OR.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris spoke on May 18th at a fundraiser benefiting the Junior State of America Scholarship Fund on Los Angeles. Ms. Harris is widely regarded as a rising political star, and this was her first meeting with JSA. The event, which had over 80 students, parents, alumni, and teachers, was held at the Brentwood home of a Junior Statesmen Foundation board member.

The event format was a moderated discussion led by Professor Dan Schnur, Director of the Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California and a member of the JSA Board of Trustees. In a wide-ranging discussion, students asked Attorney General Harris about her views on current issues such as immigration, same-sex marriage, and the death penalty. “I really appreciated Attorney General Harris’s enthusiasm and honesty. She answered difficult questions both frankly and openly, which is quite rare among politicians,” said Southern California JSA Governor Sabrina Lieberman.

(photos by Clint Weisman)

Current and newly-elected Northern California leadership students celebrate an election victory

Ohio Governor Jordan Dicken gives her final address to students in the Ohio Senate Chambers

The Junior State of America held its annual Spring State conventions across the country in April, marking the end of a great academic year of intelligent debates, educational simulations, and passionate civic activism. This year’s Spring State conventions were held in Oakbrook, Illinois, Houston, Texas, Los Angeles, California, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Orlando, Florida, Santa Clara, California, Columbus, Ohio, Redmond Washington, Meriden, Connecticut, and Phoenix, Arizona.

The convention theme, “The future of Freedom: Rights, Revolution, and Renewal,” centers around the ever-changing world that we live in, and both the domestic and foreign influences that affect the freedom billions around the world enjoy.  The debates which took place across all ten conventions included: Resolved, that drone warfare is a violation of human rights, Resolved, that the Federal Assault Weapons Ban be reinstated, and a discussion group about the 21^st Century American Identiy.

The Spring State conventions also had an impressive lineup of keynote speakers, who shared their knowledge of politics,

the media, and foreign affairs with the students. Of particular note were US Rep. John Mica (R-FL 7^th District), US Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL 11^th District), and Journalist, Author, and host of Fareed Zakaria GPS, Dr. Fareed Zakaria. “Dr. Zakaria was a great speaker because he discussed major issues we all wonder about, such as terrorism, and explained them in a way we all understood. He engaged our questions and presented us with information in relatable and unique ways,” said Mid-Atlantic Governor Simone Klein.

One of the most important activities of each weekend was the election, where students chose their leadership for the upcoming year.  In addition to the Governor, who serves as a part of JSA’s leadership on the 10-member Council of Governors, JSA states elected a variety of other officers, including Lt. Governors, Regional Mayors, and Assembly Representatives. “I am confident that the newly-elected JSA leadership has what it takes to spread JSA more widely among their peers, and to carry on our mission of teaching young people the democratic process,” said Elizabeth Ventura, JSA Senior Program Director.

In addition to JSA elections, other year-end awards were earned by students and chapters across the nation. The first award, the Statesperson of the Year, goes to a non-elected student, usually a graduating senior, who best embodies the ideals of statesmanship, and who works hard to make JSA successful. The second award, the Chapter of the Year award, goes to the chapter in each state which that has done the best possible job of educating, involving, and representing the youth of their school and community, and who participates frequently in statewide conventions and activism activities. The 10 chapters of the year will all compete for JSA’s National Civic Impact Award, given to the chapter which best displays these qualities on a national level, and which makes the biggest impact on the community it serves.

Here are the results for each state for Governor-elect, Statesperson of the Year, and Chapter of the Year.

Arizona:
2013-14 Governor-elect: Chetan Bafna, Kofa High School
2012-13 Statesperson of the Year: Priscila Ortiz, Kofa High School
2012-13 Chapter of the Year: Kofa High School, Yuma, Arizona

Mid-Atlantic:
2013-14 Governor-elect: Cristian Vides, Plainfield High School
2012-13 Statesperson of the Year: Aarushi Kumar, Secaucus High School
2012-13 Chapter of the Year: Plainfield High School, Plainfield, New Jersey

Midwest:
2013-14 Governor-elect: Kristiana Yao, Naperville North High School
2012-13 Statesperson of the Year: Carly Naughton, Nequa Valley High School
2012-13 Chapter of the Year: Illinois Math and Science Academy, Aurora, Illinois

Northern California:
2013-14 Governor-elect: Joshua Kisbye, University High School (Fresno)
2012-13 Statesperson of the Year: Will Du, Bishop O’Dowd High School
2012-13 Chapter of the Year: Richmond High School, Richmond, California

Northeast:
2013-14 Governor-elect: Benjamin Reytblat, Staten Island Technical High School
2012-13 Statesperson of the Year: Michael Holtz, Staples High School
2012-13 Chapter of the Year: New Rochelle High School, New Rochelle, New York

Ohio River Valley:
2013-14 Governor-elect: Winston Underwood, Dublin Scioto High School
2012-13 Statesperson of the Year: CJ Kronk, Pickerington North High School
2012-13 Chapter of the Year: Danville High School, Danville, Kentucky

Pacific Northwest:
2013-14 Governor-elect: Tyler Pichette, Central Valley High School
2012-13 Statesperson of the Year: Lexi Boyer, Skyline High School
2012-13 Chapter of the Year: Westview High School, Portland, Oregon

Southern California:
2013-14 Governor-elect: Sabrina Lieberman, Marlborough High School
2012-13 Statesperson of the Year: Kortnee Ogbuefi, King Drew Medical Magnet High School
2012-13 Chapter of the Year: Valencia High School, Placentia, California

Southeast:
2013-14 Governor-elect: Raymond Rif, Nova High School
2012-13 Statesperson of the Year: Jessica Zimmerman, Naples High School
2012-13 Chapter of the Year: Naples High School, Naples, Florida

Texas:
2013-14 Governor-elect: Indre Altman, Carnegie Vanguard High School
2012-13 Statesperson of the Year: Anthony Kayruz, St. Mary’s Hall
2012-13 Chapter of the Year: The John Cooper School, The Woodlands, Texas

For more extensive election results, visit your individual JSA state’s website.