HELENA — The Montana American Legion Boys State brought over 43 high school students from all over Montana into the Capital City this week.
The Montana American Legion Boys State's mission is to teach high school junior boys the fundamentals of government; from city, county, and state.
Upcoming senior, Jamie Dahmon, from Gallatin High School in Bozeman, was elected a Boys State Delegate by his peers and says it's an honor to earn a position in which he wants to in the future.
"I have a love for politics and service through politics, and I feel like that's where I want to go with my life in the future, and I think Boys State teaches you a lot of great leadership skills. Teaches you quite a fair amount about the government and politics, and I think it's a great stepping stone for my future career," said Dahmon.
Pi Taylor, an upcoming senior at Bozeman High School, was elected as governor among all the students who ran for the position a part of boys state.
"My counselor said it was a really good idea because I really want to attend a military academy at West Point at the Naval Academy and she said it was a good opportunity to improve my leadership skills," said Taylor.
Taylor said he was more than excited to represent his peers who put him in that position.
"We're all Montanan, right? So we all have that in common, right, where we might be from different cities, but we're all Montanans. So, yeah, what's once again honored, just fully and completely honored that they thought I was the best man for the job," said Taylor.
Gavin Emerson, from Flathead High School, says he's been having fun in the City of Helena, especially with being inside the Capitol Building.
Where he's making new friends and improving on communication skills as the Boys State Secretary of Press, a position he could see himself doing in the future.
"It's actually been really fun. I've written out basically the public address that will be in the newspaper, and I had a lot of fun just like playing with the words and like making it sound right, and like getting it like the right message across for Boys State and I think that I could definitely do that in my future," said Emerson.
Girls State will take place at The Montana State Capitol Building Friday, bringing in 32 girls from around the state.
