Experience of a First Year Delegate

By: Kennedy Hoernke

Model Government is a different experience for everyone, especially for delegates in their first year in Youth in Government. It can be nerve-wracking, exciting, action packed, and a fun experience, all at the same time. For returning delegates, Model Government can be a similar experience to prior years, but for first-year delegates, it is not known what to expect. Although many delegates have an idea on what is going to happen, Model Government exceeds expectations and brings many new experiences to the table. In order to understand all experiences, a first-year delegate, Izzy Martinez, was asked about her first experience at Model Government. 

Starting, Model Government is experienced in different ways, not only for different year delegates, but for different branches. Izzy participates in Media and is part of the marketing aspect of it. This year, she is her small group’s leader when it comes to editing the videos. She was asked about her experience in Media, and if she was looking to continue in this branch next year. “Yeah, I would stay in Media, it’s lowkey kinda chill,” she responded. In an in-depth explanation, she talked about how Media keeps her busy but doesn’t cause a cortisol spike. Running around the Capitol all day, but then being able to sit down, and edit in peace allows a balance in her schedule. 

Secondly, Izzy was asked about her favorite part of the conference weekend as a whole. “My favorite part was definitely when we first got here and we were allowed to explore the Capitol and all over time for the first hour or two,” she explained. Getting to experience the Capitol and Capitol Square is all a part of Model Government. The freedom delegates have in their downtime, which most would agree with, is what makes the trip so fun. Being able to meet people from other delegations and build a stronger bond with people from their own delegations is a memorable part of Madison. 

Lastly, for first-year delegates, it is not known what to expect at the conference. Izzy was asked about what surprised her about this weekend, “What I didn’t expect to happen was to make so many lovely friends, but that was really fun and really cool,” she responded. Model Government is a great place to experience new things.

 Youth in Government brings about so many positive aspects both social and educational. Socially it teaches people to become less afraid of interacting with others, being put with, possibly random, people from other delegations in smaller groups allows for interactions that maybe wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Educationally, people gain public speaking skills, writing, and debating skills. Overall, the program is an amazing experience for all people, new, and returning. The experience of Model Government weekend is based on how you make it, so, taking advice from experienced, returning delegates, make it fun, and step out of your comfort zone.