By Arnu Phonnachit | City of Schmedeman, Mitchell County

The opening of the 77th Session of Badger Boys State launched with extreme success. Everyone had a great time seeing friends at registration, only to discover their friends were all in different cities.

With sad hearts, citizens departed for their rooms and were ecstatic to learn that their roommates are pretty cool.

BBS citizen David Whittingham said “he is excited for the opportunities BBS holds”.

“This is my first summer camp with a roommate, and it has been really good,” Whittingham said. “It is a good experience for college and learning how to communicate with people who I am not familiar with.”

After the awkward conversations and icebreaker games on the first day, citizens proceeded to meet the rest of their city’s members.

This is where the fun began. The counselors made citizens play an introduction game and gave them a light overview of BBS.

From there the boys went on to do a variety of things while at BBS including band, choir, color guard, state troopers and athletics. Each adds a unique experience to BBS.

After their activities, they went to an assembly to get more of an idea of what BBS is about. They listened to a keynote speaker at the assembly who spoke about being yourself. From there the boys were exhausted and ready for a nights’ sleep.

“It was a long night and so far my experience is ok,” Robbert, a close friend, said. “I hope for a much better experience throughout this week.”

The students are looking forward to a great week of learning and attending fun activities.