Juniors Cessie Nishimi and Philip Richards were selected as this year’s delegates for the annual Girls’ and Boys’ State programs, sponsored by the American Legion.

According to Richards, students were nominated by the counselors. The nominees were then interviewed by an American Legion representative who later chose the delegate. Richards said, “When I was nominated I was pretty surprised, because it kind of came, not out of the blue, but I hadn’t been told about it before.”

Nishimi said, “I think it is an honor to be nominated because the program is basically a mock government and Campo looks to send people who they think will be competent leaders and communicators: so, I was humbled to be nominated and the other candidates for the nomination are people who I admire as role models.”

He dressed up for the interview. “I’m glad I dressed up though, because every other person also dressed up; tie and everything,” he said. “The interview I felt I did really well. The guy was really nice; he was fun to talk to.”

“I was surprised I was picked because it seemed so hard to get picked out of the whole grade,” Richards said. He believes one of the reasons he was picked was due to his role in Youth & Government. “I got a lot of experience this year about how the government works and how these things are run.”

Nishimi cites her personality as another reason she was selected. She said, “I definitely think I was memorable because I’m outgoing.”

She is looking forward to the mock government. “I’m really interested in how the government works,” she said. “My understanding is that everyone has to go through a process to pass legislature, so I think that’s interesting.”

Richards aspires to be in one of the Houses of Congress. He said, “I think I’d probably want to be in one of the Houses because that’s what I did in Youth & Government, and that’s what I like doing.”

Both delegates are looking to improve themselves. “I’m hoping to gain some leadership skills definitely,” Richards said. “I’m hoping to find some position where I can lead some people, and then maybe use that knowledge back in whatever else I try to do.”

Nishimi added, “I hoping to better my skills as a communicator and to learn how to compromise and work with other people more effectively and efficiently. I think that the experience will hopefully make me a better leader.”

The 2 state-ers are excited about meeting new people. “I’m hoping that I find some people with similar interests,” Richards said.