Student Feature Friday - Matthew O'Brien Elected to Boys Nation

Nipmuc Senior Matthew O'Brien
meeting President Obama at the
White House

Each year the American Legion hosts Boys State, one of the most impactful leadership opportunities a high school student can experience. Boys State offers students the chance to engage in civics by taking on leadership roles in a simulated community. Students from high schools across Massachusetts send delegates to Stonehill College for a week of “hands on democracy.” From this impressive group of young leaders, two Massachusetts students are elected to the Boys Nation Senate, providing them with the opportunity to travel to Washington DC as representatives of their state.

This past summer Nipmuc senior Matthew O’Brien earned the honor of being elected to this prestigious role. Matthew spent a memorable and empowering week during which he met President Obama, interacted with United States Senators, attended a hearing with Secretary of State Kerry, and learned the power of civic engagement with 97 other emerging student-leaders.

It’s my pleasure to begin this year of “Feature Friday” posts by sharing Matthew’s amazing experience with you.

Q: Tell me about your experience at Boys Nation? What were some of the highlights of this honor?
A: Getting elected to Boys Nation at the outset was an incredible honor! I had to give a series of speeches in front of the delegation, every day, my competition dwindling until it was myself and my fellow Senator left. Once I arrived at Boys Nation at Marymount University, I was immediately put into one of two fictional political parties (Nationalist and Federalist); I was by chance a Federalist. Each party was responsible for drafting its own political platform, which I must say was crazy because we had people from all political ideologies represented. Each state (minus Hawaii) sends two Senators to Boys Nation, so we mirrored the actual U.S. Senate. We each proposed bills and resolutions. They were sent to committee, debated on, and voted on by the delegation. I introduced a resolution that proposed a constitutional amendment that would outlaw the desecration of the United States flag, an issue that the American Legion is especially passionate about. While there, I ran for President of Boys Nation, coming in the top six out of the 40 senators that ran. We took a private tour of the Pentagon and met and sang “Anchors Aweigh” to the Secretary of the Navy. We also had a whole day on Capitol Hill devoted to meeting with our respective senators and congressmen. On that day, we truly witnessed history in action. We thought the senate was going to be called into emergency session to vote on the Iran Nuclear Deal but instead, the Secretary of State was on the Hill conducting a senate hearing in front of the foreign relations committee. I was ten feet behind John Kerry and got to speak to him afterwards! I also met with Senator Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, Congressmen Jim McGovern and Joe Kennedy III. One of my favorite memories from the whole week was while I was at the Korean War memorial. Walking through the nameless faces at dusk brought back memories of my grandfather, a USMC Korean War veteran, so I felt compelled to call my grandmother all the way in New York to share my feelings with her. I called her on the phone and I broke down and wept at the foot of the statue that read 'Freedom Is Not Free'. Truly a powerful moment.

Matthew (seated in front of President Obama) and the
other 97 Boys Nation Senators

Q: What was it like to meet President Obama?
A: I must say, meeting the President of the United States is one event that will forever be ingrained in my memory. On that particular day, the Boys Nation delegation arrived at the White House where we took our own private tour, seeing the famous building everybody sees on television from the inside. After the tour, we assembled in the East Room, where I was astonished to pull back the curtains and see the North Portico, and the tourists. They were looking in, but we were looking out. Anyway, all 98 Senators got arranged on risers for the presidential photo by the White House photographer and as luck had it, I was sitting in a chair right in the middle of the front row! I was informed that I would have to move my chair and make room for the President so he could squeeze through. Normally moving one’s chair does not seem like a big deal but on that particular day, I was able to move my chair for POTUS! After a few minutes of waiting silently in our positions, we heard out of nowhere in a familiar voice, a deep, "Hello everybody!" Then he appeared. The President of the United States himself, there, not six feet in front of me. After a short speech about service to one’s nation, the delegates sang happy birthday to the President (his birthday was two weeks later) he then joined the group for the photo. I moved my chair and in he walked. He looked me in the eye, shook my hand, and asked, "What's your name son?" To which I replied, "Matthew O'Brien, from Massachusetts, Mr. President." We took the group picture and then got in a receiving line to shake his hand once again. When it was my turn he expressed his apologies for forgetting my name to which I said, "My name is Matthew O'Brien from Massachusetts and if I may sir, thank you, for giving me hope." I walked away feeling invigorated with the power of the American presidency. So much power in one man, it almost overwhelms you if you forget to breathe (I almost did). The two most important things I can take away from meeting the President of the United States that day in July are: 1) It didn't matter if you were for him or against him, at the moment his policy decisions were irrelevant. You were meeting the President and the office in itself demands an immense amount of honor and respect. 2.) President Obama has incredibly soft hands.

Q: What was the most inspirational part of the Boys Nation experience?
A: While meeting the President was definitely memorable, the most inspirational part of the Boys Nation experience was by far the fellow Senators I shared the experience with. During the day, we would debate our bills we introduced in the senate chamber (sometimes things got quite heated) but at the end of the day, we always shook hands and called a truce. We as Senators debated like gentlemen. Late into the night, we would stay up, discussing our own philosophies about politics, religion, or the meaning of life in general. Things got interesting with me as a Catholic, a Southern Baptist from Mississippi, a Mormon from Utah and a Buddhist from Oregon all discussing creationism versus the Big Bang at two am! One story where I will be inspired until the day I leave this Earth, involves my roommate, a conservative, devout Christian from Indiana, who believed that gay marriage was a sin. Being a liberal from the north, where marriage equality has been the norm for a while now, I was taken back from his statement. But after talking it through with him, we still disagreed fundamentally, but at least we were able to understand where the other was coming from, and that is what I believe the ulterior function of the program is. To expose delegates to other cultures and ways of thinking other political, religious, and ideological philosophies; and by that I was truly inspired to listen more to opposing sides before I prejudge.

Q: How has this experience affected your future?
A: Going to Washington DC and participating in Boys Nation has affected my future in a few ways. After returning from Boys Nation, I came into my senior year with a renewed sense of patriotism. Before going to Boys State and eventually Boys Nation, I was planning on focusing on music in college and beyond. But after my hands-on exposure to the American political system, being up close and personal with Senators, Congressmen, lobbyists, the Secretary of State and other government officials, I see the value of public service in the 21st century world. I now plan to major in Political Science and Economics as a result of my experiences in Washington with hopes to eventually earn a law degree. My end goal is definitely a run for the Massachusetts State Legislature or U.S. House of Representatives when the time is right.

I would just like to add lastly, that through my experiences, I believe I have I learned the values of citizenship and most importantly the little things like the value of saying the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning. That the youth vote matters, and our generation, the millennial generation needs to get out to vote. That there are hundreds of thousands of veterans out there, we see them every day; they may be wearing an American Legion cap or that of the VFW, it matters not. All that matters is that they fought to protect our flag and our rights and we owe them our respect and the very least our thanks, so. I challenge the readers of this post, to go out of their way and thank a veteran for their service to our great nation today. We owe them all a great debt. I offer a special thank you to American Legion Roger L. Wood Post 355 in Mendon for sponsoring me throughout my journey this summer!

The Boys Nation Senators representing their home states.