South Dakota’s four representatives to the Boys Nation and Girls Nation events held last month (July 2025) included a student from Pierre.
Chloe Bowers from Pierre’s T.F. Riggs High School and Arabella Scott from Rapid City Stevens High School were chosen to serve as Student Senators at Girls Nation, held in Washington D.C..
Alex Smith from Sioux Falls Lutheran High School and Lewis Carlyle from Rapid City Stevens High School were Student Senators at Boys Nation, held at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia.
Participation in the political process was emphasized throughout the week. The Student Senators learned how to properly handle bills according to U.S. Senate rules. They also organized party conventions, and nominated and elected a president and vice president.
The week of government training also included lectures, forums and visits to federal agencies, national shrines, institutions, memorials and historical sites. While on Capitol Hill, Boys and Girls Nation Senators also meet with elected officials from their home states.
The first Boys Nation– then called Boys Forum of National Government– convened at American University in Washington in August 1946. The 1946 American Legion National Convention adopted the event as an official youth activity. Three years later, it became American Legion Boys Nation. Girls Nation followed in 1947.
Two representatives from each of the 50 Boys State/Girls State Programs can represent their state at Boys/Girls Nation in our Nation’s Capital.
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