Three from Grain Valley experience a "week to shape a lifetime" at Boys State

by Cole Arndorfer
             
“A week to shape a lifetime.” This phrase has guided the goals of the Missouri Boys State program and what it aims to do for high schoolers across the state. Three rising seniors from Grain Valley High School got to experience all that Boys State has to offer this summer.
 
Luke Arndorfer, Stylz Blackmon, and Eli Oerly were the three students selected to represent Grain Valley in the 2023 edition of the Missouri Boys State, held at Lindenwood University.
 
From June 24-July 1, the nearly 1,000 Boys State participants were split into nine counties and 18 cities. The goal for the week is to teach the young men leadership and the purpose of government. Citizens are tasked with creating a fully functional, democratic, mock government over the course of the week.
 
Each of the three Grain Valley representatives were split into different cities and given different roles in that city. Arndorfer was put into Blair city where he served as an attorney and a fireman. Blackmon resided in Kohn city and took on the role of Athletic Director and Assistant Fire Chief. Oerly was part of Carnahan city where he was elected to be a Senator, then elected Caucus Chairman for the Federalist Party, and Majority Floor Leader.
 
For Oerly, elections were an integral part of the week. “With them [elections] came a lot of speeches and campaigns,” he said.
 
 “The first election I was a part of, which was Beverage Commissioner, I lost,” Oerly remembers. “This loss allowed me to learn from the mistakes I had made and correct them for my next campaign.”
 
Those interested in becoming lawyers at Boys State must attend law school and pass the Bar Exam. Arndorfer hopes to become a lawyer in the future so he knew that is what he wanted to do at Boys State in order to gain some experience. After passing the exam, Arndorfer became an attorney in a law firm that was created with some others in his city.
 
The firm was successful, he said, as they won over 70,000 Boys State Bucks throughout the week.
 
Blackmon said that he got some great experience coaching with his role as Athletic Director. “I was able to coach my teams to prominent wins,” he said.
 
“This position helped me learn how to be a better leader and coach, on and off the field,” Blackmon remarked.
 
Each day, citizens had different events they could attend that included powerful speakers, athletic competitions, meetings and elections within cities, as well as sessions that citizens could learn more about careers they may be interested in.
 
Among those speakers, longtime sports broadcaster and 29-time Emmy Award winner, Bob Costas, was the favorite for both Arndorfer and Blackmon. According to Blackmon, Costas gave a great talk on the importance of being versatile, not settling on just one thing, and loving what you do in your future career.
 
Oerly had a different view on his favorite speaker. Oerly’s favorite speaker was Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, who was the first speaker of the week. Oerly was impressed with how open Rooney talked about his faith and how it helped him when he flew as a pilot in the Air Force.
 
As Boys State started to wind down, the State Fair was held on Thursday night as a celebration of all the hard work the citizens had put in throughout the week. The fair provided a relaxing, fun night for all the citizens to take a breath, enjoy some food, play games, and have fun with the other boys attending as well as the girls attending Girls State.
 
All three boys agree that they learned some very important lessons that they will use through the rest of their lives.
 
“It was so great to be able to make friends and build connections with people in such a short amount of time. Some of the biggest things I learned were to stand up for what I believe in without being afraid of what others think, as well as how to be a leader, and what it takes to run the government,” Arndorfer said.
 
For Blackmon, he said the biggest things he learned was the knowledge on how to serve, how to become a better leader, and, “the importance of service, not only within the community, but with family and friends as well.”
 
“This week meant a lot to me, largely because I learned how to be a successful leader,” Oerly said. “I plan on joining the military and the experience I received at Boys State has helped me tremendously in the leadership skills required to be a distinguished officer in the military.”
 
On the last day, there was an awards ceremony held where Boys State announced the individual and city awards for the week. While none of the Grain Valley representatives won individual awards, Blackman and Oerly were a part of cities that were recognized with awards.
 
Blackmon’s Kohn city won the Most Diverse Award for having the most participants in athletics, third overall in athletic competition, and third in model city.
 
Oerly’s Carnahan city placed second overall in athletic competition.
 
Each of the boys highly recommend attending Boys State.
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“Although it may seem intimidating to be away for a week with a group of new people,” Oerly said. “You build unbreakable bonds with everyone, receive amazing leadership opportunities, and get a large sense of brotherhood in your cities.”
 
The motto “a week to shape a lifetime” rings true for these three Grain Valley students. All three of them called the opportunity to attend Boys State a once in a lifetime experience and said that they will have the memories from that week for as long as they live. 

Luke Arndorfer, Stylz Blackmon, and Eli Oerly were the three students selected to represent Grain Valley in the 2023 edition of the Missouri Boys State, held at Lindenwood University. Submitted photo.