Last Thursday, LeeAnn Partin and I left school early to attend a state competition for Youth and Government, which is a program hosted by the YMCA designed to give middle schoolers and high schoolers the experience of participating in government.

There are many different sections you can participate in, such as judicial, legislative, and media. You can participate in mock trials as an attorney, judge, or witness, or create a bill to present to other members of Youth and Government’s “legislature.” Another popular section is the State Affairs Forum, where students present solutions to problems facing Texas and defend them, as well as question and debate others’ proposals.

Finally, there’s the media section, which gets to observe and report on all of these sections. That was the section LeeAnn and I were in, and we found it pretty fun to explore what different sections were doing. Because of that, I got a variety of photos showcasing each section so you can get an idea of what it’s like participating in a Youth and Government competition.