Leadership and knowledge summarize Cole Huntington and Cole Reuter’s experience at the 73rd annual Badger Boys State held from June 14-21 in Ripon.
The two Shawano Community High School juniors were selected by school administrators to be among the 850 Wisconsin students attending the annual program.
“It taught me to be a better leader and (we) learned more about the government,” Cole Huntington said. “It is a lot bigger than you think.”
Founded in 1939, Badger Boys State, sponsored by the Wisconsin American Legion, emphasizes the importance of American citizenship, including the rights and responsibilities.
The program is modeled after the state government structure and gives students the ability to develop platforms, pass ordinances and utilize a judicial system.
Upon arrival at the Ripon College campus, the students were grouped into cities and counties to form a “51st state.” For eight days, the students carried out all the main functions of city, county and state government. They elected their own municipal, county and state officials.
Cole Huntington had two roles at Boys State, a lawyer and state representative. Reuter served as chief of police.
Reuter participated in court hearings, took leadership classes and also hit the basketball court with students he never met until the session. He said he learned it takes a variety of people doing different tasks in order to complete one process in government.
“In leadership, you don’t have to make all the decisions, just provide input, listen, and then go forward,” Reuter said.
“In each city, we had 29 people, but by the end of the week we were all really good friends,” Reuter said.
One of the most memorable moments for Huntington and Reuter came when Gov. Scott Walker spoke to the students.
Cole Huntington’s father, Bart, was impressed with his son’s experience at Ripon College.
“It was a wonderful experience and he came back with a wealth of knowledge about how the government works,” he said.
Cole Huntington is president of the Class of 2015 at SCHS. His other school activities include serving as president of Future Business Leaders of America, member of Junior Achievement and Bridge to Success along with serving on student advisory. He also plays golf, football and basketball.
Reuter is a member of FBLA and Junior Achievement. He also competes in cross-country, basketball and tennis.
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