Attended the Graduation Dinner for the Junior Statesmen Foundation's Los Angeles Symposium tonight. About 80 high school students spent the last four days learning about Southland politics and government.
Most were from Southern California, although a handful were proudly from Fresno and one student was from Guam.
It's a little hard for me to imagine I sat through a similar ceremony after attending the Symposium just a short 26 years ago. (It sure seems like USC, where the students stay, has improved its facilities in the meantime.)
It's always a great treat to meet these students who are showing an interest in politics so early in their life. Some are still turning the corner on being shy and timid, while others are already in mini-politician mode ready to shake your hand and slip you a contribution envelope. (They'd take that as a compliment, by the way.)
One student speaker made a half-joke about the symposium's curfew being too early and the briefings (to prepare the students for the speakers) too long. Glad to see the program is consistent -- we had the same complaints in the 70s.
The other student speaker incorporated a card trick into her speech to illustrate how the symposium helped students go from being isolated individuals (a lone card) to part of a cohesive group (the entire deck). She campaigned to be a Graduation Speaker with the promise of performing a trick and she delivered.
Based on the students I spoke with, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca was an engaging and informative speaker and several cited him as their "favorite."
Tonight it's early to bed because I'm up hideously early tomorrow morning to catch a 6 a.m. flight to Washington, DC and then on to London on Friday.
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