Boys and Girls State Success Stories: Joshua and Grace

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Joshua Ruwe, a 2020 graduate of Riverside HS in Lansdowne was recently awarded a 4-year scholarship to attend the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY.
Josh attended the Boys State Program at Radford University in June 2019 where he was assigned as Chaplain for Bradley City where he also participated on the football and basketball teams.

During Josh’s four years at Riverside, he played lacrosse where he won two state championships and three region championships. He finished his senior season as a captain and he also ran cross country his junior year and I took seven honors courses, seven AP courses, and completed his high school academic standings with a 4.05 GPA. For other extracurriculars, Josh was the huddle leader of Riverside’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes for three years and a member of the varsity club. Outside of school, Joshua was on two club lacrosse teams, Hammers and FCA Maryland. FCA Maryland has consistently been ranked one of the top teams in the country. He was also a part of his church’s youth group and the local “Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed” (AWANA) club.  He also volunteered for the Ashburn Bandits youth lacrosse team, and was the head coach of a freshman basketball team.

For anyone pursuing a service academy appointment, Joshua highly recommends Boys or Girls state. It was a fantastic experience, and he is already telling friends who want to go to USMA to apply.
Joshua’s father is Jon Ruwe, a LTC is the US Army Medical Service Corps, who is participating in the Hiring our Hero’s Fellowship as he transitions from active duty this fall.
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Grace Maloney is a recent graduate of Freedom High School’s Class of 2020 and attended the Academy of Engineering and Technology in Loudoun County, Virginia for two years. This upcoming fall, Grace will be attending the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. In high school, Grace worked to develop a biodegradable gardening pot made of biosolids. Entering the Loudoun County Regional Science Fair, she and a partner won several awards from various environmental groups, including the Junior Stockholm Water Prize. She is a co-owner of a company, Grow Greenly LLC, which won first place and a $10,000 grant in the IncubatorEdu National Pitch competition in Chicago, Illinois. She was President of her high school’s Environmental Club and has been a keynote speaker for several entrepreneurship and innovation workshops for high school girls at the USPTO (United States Patent and Trade Office) this past fall and will be speaking again at an upcoming Women’s History program at the USPTO Headquarters. The topic will involve trying to encourage girls to pursue STEM, invention-focused education and entrepreneurship. She has been involved with DECA for the past four years, serving as the President of her school’s chapter and has attended ICDC for the past four years, most recently competing in the Independent Business Plan category. Grace was a two-time Captain of the cross-country team and runs indoor and outdoor track. She has completed summer internship programs with the Naval Research Laboratory and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute – Janelia Research Center. Grace is also a co-inventor and patent holder for a life vest, the “Floodie”.

Grace’s experience at Virginia Girl’s State was inspiring and motivating. As a delegate, Girl’s State provides endless opportunities for young women to develop their own policies, share their individual ideas, and run for various representative positions. At Girl’s State, Grace was selected by her city, to serve in the Senate and as the President Pro Tempore. Grace also won the $1,250 American Legion Samsung Scholarship. This experience allowed her to network with other female leaders from across the state of Virginia and form strong bonds between the girls in her city. Girl’s State is inspiring, because it promotes young women to find their voices and speak about their passions and ideas for improvement. Grace hopes to use her Girl’s State experience at the University of Michigan, where she hopes to continue her interests in the economy, the environment, and entrepreneurship.

16 High Schools Juniors Complete Boys and Girls State

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Leonard W. Kidd Memorial American Legion Post 2001 of Ashburn, Virginia sponsored 16 juniors from seven local high schools in central Loudoun County (Riverside, Briar Wood, Stone Bridge, Broad Run, Rock Ridge, Freedom and John Champe). Boys State was held at Radford University and Girls State was held on Longwood University from June 16-21, 2019.
 
The Virginia Boys and Girls State program provides the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the various areas of local, state and federal government. Participants cultivate leadership skills and develop pride in American citizenship.
 
The Program highlights include the following: Citizens learn the political process through the election process for the offices of the mythical 51st state. Each delegate is assigned to a political party which has no philosophy or platform until the delegates develop one. Delegates use the basic laws and procedures of the State of Virginia as a guide for their week. Speakers from all levels of government provide valuable lessons for the delegates. A highly qualified staff provides guidance and leadership.
 
The Boy and Girls State programs are among the most respected educational programs of government instruction for high school students. Each participant becomes a part of the operation of his local, county and state government.
 
All delegates are exposed to the rights and privileges, the duties and the responsibilities of a franchised citizen. The training is objective and practical with city, county and state governments operated by the students elected to the various offices. Activities include legislative sessions, court proceedings, law enforcement presentations, assemblies, bands, chorus and recreational programs.
 
With hands-on experience, you will create an effective political organization, operating from the local through the state level. The government organization provides for such features as city and state elections. The citizens are organized into two political parties: the Nationalist Party and the Federalist Party.
 
Virginia Boys & Girls State is a leadership action program, designed to develop a working knowledge of the structure of government and to impress upon the citizen the fact that our government is just what we make it. Along the way they will have the opportunity to learn the political process. Each level of government will be run by those delegates who are elected to serve. Instruction will be presented on the law and court system, parliamentary procedure and Virginia political history.
 
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If you have a student who has completed their Junior year of high school in Loudoun County and is interested in applying for the program next year 2020, or would like to donate or be a sponsor to the program, please contact us at alpost2001@gmail.com.
 
Additional information can be found here:
Virginia Girls State: https://www.vagirlsstate.org/
Virginia Boys State: https://www.vaboysstate.org/