More than a program:
Each summer, a select group of Nebraska high school juniors leave behind their hometowns, families, and familiar routines to spend a week stepping into the roles of leaders, lawmakers, judges, and elected officials.
The programs are called Cornhusker Girls State and Cornhusker Boys State, organized by the American Legion Auxiliary and the American Legion. While they are often described as weeklong government simulations, participants quickly discover they are much more than that.
For one week on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, students don’t simply learn about government from a textbook. They build one themselves.
Students from communities across Nebraska are selected by local American Legion posts and auxiliary units based on leadership, citizenship, academics, and character. In many towns, only one or two students are chosen each year, making the opportunity both competitive and meaningful.
The programs themselves have a long history. Boys State was founded in 1935 by Illinois Legionnaires Hayes Kennedy and Harold Card as a way to teach young people about government through participation rather than lecture. Girls State soon followed, and together the programs have spent decades helping students better understand citizenship, leadership, and civic responsibility.
From the moment participants arrive on campus, the experience moves quickly.
There is little time to settle in before students begin organizing cities, counties, political parties, and elections. By the end of the first day, they are no longer simply attendees. They are citizens in a fully functioning, student- run government.
“When I first arrived, I was a bit overwhelmed but excited,” Shae Eggers of Sutton said, who attended Cornhusker Girls State. “There were hundreds of girls in a common area checking in. I had to fill out my voter registration and then went up to meet my roommate. It was very welcoming coming in.”
Participants are divided into political parties, develop platforms, campaign for office, debate issues, and learn firsthand how city, county, and state governments operate. Every student is expected to participate.
There are no spectators. Some students run for mayor or city council. Others seek offices such as county clerk, attorney general, senator, secretary of state, or governor. Campaigns are created almost entirely on the spot, relying on communication skills, creativity, and personal interaction.
For Eggers, campaigning became less about the title and more about the people she met throughout the week.
“My campaign was more about making friends,” she said. “During whistle hour every night, I would go floor to floor and actually talk to people, instead of just giving a quick pitch and moving on.”
Throughout the week, students participate in legislative sessions, court proceedings, debates, assemblies, law-enforcement presentations, and leadership activities. They write bills, discuss policy, practice parliamentary procedure, and experience firsthand how government decisions are made.
The pace is intense. Schedules are packed, phones are limited, and students are expected to present themselves professionally throughout the week. At Girls State, organizers describe the experience as both physically and emotionally demanding, with participants constantly moving between meetings, activities, and sessions across campus.
Some of the most memorable experiences come during the nightly town meetings, where students debate ideas and work through problems together.
“My town took them very seriously, so there was always a lot of arguing,” Eggers said. “But we ended up winning for best solutions, so it paid off.”
But somewhere beneath the structure, long days, and constant activity, something bigger begins to happen.
Students who may have arrived quietly begin speaking with confidence. They learn how to lead discussions, defend ideas respectfully, solve problems as a team, and navigate disagreement. Many leave realizing they are capable of far more than they expected.
Being surrounded by motivated students from across Nebraska left a lasting impression on Eggers.
“It really showed me girls really do run the world,” she said.
Programs like Girls State and Boys State are designed not only to teach government, but to help develop the next generation of community leaders. Organizers emphasize that the programs are not recreational camps, but immersive leadership experiences intended for students who demonstrate strong character, service, and leadership potential.
At the same time, friendships form quickly. Talent shows, assemblies, recreational activities, and late-night conversations between roommates help create connections that often continue long after the week ends.
Those opportunities continue because of the support of local American Legion posts and auxiliary units across Clay County and surrounding communities, which sponsor students to attend each year.
In 2026, the Clay Center Legion, Glenvil Legion, Sutton Legion, and Shickley Legion are all helping send area students to Girls State and Boys State. Those students include Amberleise Meyer and Caliee League of Sandy Creek, along with Breckyn Peterson, Elsa Andersen, Trinidi Oswald, David Hajny, Brody Schelkopf, Creighton Jones, and Connor Hinrichs, all of Sutton.
For many of these students, the experience represents more than just a week away from home. It is an opportunity to discover strengths they may not have realized they had, while building connections with other young leaders from across Nebraska.
And then, almost as quickly as it began, the week comes to an end.
Closing sessions recognize achievements and reflect on everything accomplished throughout the program. Students leave campus with a stronger understanding of government and citizenship, but many also leave with something less tangible and perhaps even more valuable.
Confidence.
Perspective. And a network of peers who may someday become teachers, attorneys, doctors, military leaders, elected officials, and community advocates across Nebraska.
“I walked away with a close-knit community of women who I have no doubt will do amazing things,” Eggers said. “From teachers to lawyers and even doctors, I’ll always be able to say I met them at Girls State.”
In communities across Nebraska, including those throughout Clay County, the impact of these programs quietly returns home with each participant.
It appears later in classrooms, workplaces, conversations, and leadership roles.
Cornhusker Girls State and Boys State may each last only a week.
But for the young people who attend, what they gain from the experience lasts much longer.
