Boys State 2024

For eight decades, a select group of rising high school seniors from around the State of Florida have traveled to the capital of Florida, Tallahassee, to participate in the week-long Boys State program. Nico Miranda '25 was one of the participants this summer, and he shared the story below about his transformative experience at Boys State:

In the middle of the night, we piled into a bus at a Walmart in Tampa, bound for Boys State. Everyone found a seat and quickly fell asleep before we made it to Tallahassee, the State Capitol, and Florida State University to embark on our week of experiences. The long drive felt like a quick trip thanks to the snooze. The bus dropped us off, and we headed straight to our rooms to put on the distinctive red polo shirts and name tags, and to take our picture.

We had made it to Boys State. This was only the start of an incredible week ahead of us with hundreds of other high school senior boys from around the state of Florida.

Eight of us from Jesuit attended this summer, all rising seniors from the Class of 2025: Landon Cannady, Isaiah Cintron, L.J. Fishman, Logan Hardin, Oliver Hund, Jake Judson, Brady Kiser, and myself. Members of the American Legion chose us after the application process, which included a written portion and an interview to determine which boys would be best suited to attend the prestigious program. I felt fortunate to be there with a great group of Jesuit classmates.

A selective, week-long, 79-year-old summer program for rising seniors, Boys State has been designed for and produced young men with a desire to serve their communities in government. The week is filled with activity. Operated by students – delegates – elected to various offices, Boys State includes legislative sessions, court proceedings, law-enforcement presentations, assemblies, and various special programs. Many of Florida's top political figures engage the participants during the week.

Every morning, after our 6:15am wake-up call, we would have a town meeting. where we would discuss the agenda for the day before entering the Tucker Civic Center. In the Tucker Center, we held mock elections, listened to guest speakers, and had classes on Florida’s history and government. During our mock elections, we could campaign for positions and elect other delegates to city, county, and state positions. As positions were filled, we would then be assigned simulations.

Our cities and counties work together in these simulations to solve various operational problems. Initially, the simulations seemed impossible, but as we learned more from the lectures and speakers, such as Evan Power, the Party chair of the Republican Party of Florida, and John Dailey, the Democratic mayor of Tallahassee, they became much more straightforward. We gained points towards winning the Commander Cup, which was awarded to the town with the best overall score, based on how well we solved our city’s issues.

After each day’s worth of lectures, elections, and various activities, our cities would be dismissed back to the residences, where we would all hang out in each other’s dorm rooms. In doing so, we learned more about each other and developed new friendships. Later in the week, we went to the Florida State Capitol and sat in the exact seats of Florida’s elected representatives. In the capitol, we debated over the bills that all of the delegates had created, and tried to pass as many laws as possible. On our final night together after the awards ceremony, our city counselor, Ramzi, went down the hallway, expressing his gratitude to each of us and sharing something meaningful to him about us. When he came by me, Ramzi spoke about two friends (Kyle and Joe) and myself collectively, sharing his favorite memory of the three of us, how loud and passionate we were in all of the mock elections. This simple act of sharing by Ramzi meant a lot. It enhanced my experience at Boys State and deepened the newly formed friendships I had made with Kyle and Joe.

I am incredibly grateful and fortunate to have been chosen to go to Boys State. The program has allowed me to much better understand Florida’s government and the process for passing bills into law, and I met other rising seniors from all over the state and created new friendships. The Boys State program was a fantastic experience.