Rivier College awarded three college credits to this year's Boys State graduates who successfully completed the program, applied for the credits and paid Rivier College the credit fees.
The sixty-first annual session of the NH American Legion Boys State program was held from June 28 to July 3, 2008. Alex P. Rouleau, an incoming senior at Somersworth High School, was elected Governor. Fifty-nine high school juniors from 34 New Hampshire high schools established the mythical fifty-first state in Nashua, NH.
On Thursday, July 3rd, Boys State visited the New Hampshire state capitol building in Concord, where the students were given a tour by Rep. John Graham. Governor John Lynch joined the students for a discussion on current legislation being discussed or recently passed by the NH State Legislature. The visit to the State Capitol was preceded by lunch at Post #28 in Suncook.
Thanks to the Rivier College computer resources, students once again voted online, and for the second time took the final examination online also. A Presidential mock election was included in the student voting, with Senator John McCain defeating Senator Barack Obama, 57.5% to 47.5%.
The staff, comprised of educators and alumni of Boys State programs, provided superb guidance and direction to this Boys State session. The staff included Director Joseph Nee and Asst. Director Keith Luter; Sr. Counselors Lt. Jason Cipriano (USN), Attorney Alexander Henlin, and Farhan Quasem (2006 Boys State Governor and Boys Nation delegate); and junior counselors Joseph Plunkett (2007 Boys State Governor and Boys Nation delegate) and Sgt. Walter Kroptavich (USA).
The Boys State Committee would like to express its appreciation for the continued support of legion posts and participating high schools who recruit and sponsor students to the program. We wish the best to all of our participating students who are among the finest young people in our state! The Boys State committee would also like to thank all Legionnaires, legion posts and districts who provided support to make Boys State successful. Special thanks to Lisa Vallee, department headquarters, who did an outstanding job in her first year supporting the Boys State program. Special thanks also to PDC Tony Rabbia for coordinating all donations and getting the food, soda and Color Guard equipment to Rivier College and to Rep. John Graham who coordinated the field trip to Concord and the meeting with Governor John Lynch.
As always, thanks to our gracious hosts, Rivier College and Sodexo cafeteria services, for another great year of service to the program, and to Massbay Community College for printing the Boys State Citizen training manuals.
Governor
Alex P. Rouleau
Somersworth High School
Secretary of State
Keenan P. Dillard
Manchester West High School
Treasurer
Vincent J. Bennett
Hollis-Brookline High School
Governor's Executive Councilors At-Large
Richard A. Hoyt
Oyster River High School
Carlos A. Torres
Dover High School
Governor's Executive Council District 1
Michael R. Durant
Pinkerton Academy
Governor's Executive Council District 2
Timothy J. Osborn
Lisbon Regional High School
Governor's Executive Council District 3
Garrett J. Finn
Lebanon High School
President of the Senate
Nick A. Letizio
Salem High School
Speaker of the House
Kevin C. Wang
Nashua South High School
Eleven Students earn $20K college scholarship
INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 8, 2008) – Eleven outstanding high school students emerged from a field of nearly a hundred applicants as recipients of a $20,000 Samsung-American Legion Scholarship.
Samuel I. Andersen of Brigham City, Utah; Joseph Arsenault, of Berlin, N.H.; Forrest W. Ford of Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Joshua D. Habermehl of Moberly, Mo.; Jessica R. Jaeger of Mellen, Wis.; Thomas C. Mealey of Bloomington, Minn.; John R. Mitchem of Sedgwick, Kan.; Kelly R. Murphy of Glendale, Ariz.; Conner R. Pate of Dallas, Texas; Courtney Reeder of Worthington, Ohio; and Rachel E. Rominger of New Palestine, Ind. were named here following their selection by The American Legion National Committee on Education with participation from the Samsung Corporation.
The committee awarded the scholarships on the basis of academic record, involvement in school and community activities and financial need. Eligibility for scholarships requires students to be direct descendants of U.S. wartime veterans. All had grandfathers who served either in World War II, the Korean War, or both.
The Samsung Group, an international electronics company, endowed a scholarship fund of $5 million to be administered by The American Legion, to show appreciation to U.S. veterans who came to the aid of Korea during its struggle against communist forces during the Korean War. The size and number of scholarships awarded each year is dependent upon the amount of income derived from the fund.
The class of 2008 is on Facebook.