HOULTON, Maine — Three Houlton High School students have been selected to participate in the YMCA Youth Conference on National Affairs.
HHS students Danielle Provost, Adam Casillas and Emma Hines were chosen to represent their school at the 2015 event, slated for June 27-July 2 in Blue Ridge Mountain, N.C.
Last year, Maine attended the national conference for the first time, sending just four students. Provost was one of those four attending.
This year, Maine will have a full delegation of 25 students participating. Those 25 students were selected from a pool of 200 students at the Maine Youth and Government.
According to the YMCA Youth Conference on National Affairs website, “This program offers unusual opportunities for a young person to do research in the area of national and international concern; to organize this information into a documented proposal; to engage in intensive discussion and to debate these proposals with understanding young people from other states. Young people who have participated in the YMCA Youth Conference on National Affairs are unanimous in their belief that this experience makes a vital contribution in helping young citizens to learn more about the democratic form of government.”
The conference program is divided into three major phases:
• Committees will determine a priority calendar for debate and action by the General Assemblies.
• General Assembly and Plenary sessions where action is taken on proposals.
• Fellowship and devotionals are an important part of the total program.
Youth desiring to participate in the YMCA Youth Conference on National Affairs must have participated in their own YMCA State Youth in Government or YMCA Model U.N. Program and had to prepare a proposal on a matter of national or international concern.
“You really get a sense of America’s different cultures,” Provost said. “I was in a little bit of culture shock last year. This is a political camp, so it teaches students how to participate in a mock government.”
To help assist with the cost of the trip, the three Houlton students will be out fundraising in the community. The cost is $800 per student, which includes all meals, lodging and transportation. Provost said the three students have been soliciting donations from area businesses and will be doing a bottle drive.
