White County Young Man Succeeds At Boys State, Looks Forward To Boys Nation

It’s been a summer of leadership for one White County High School rising senior.

Jake Officer was elected governor for Tennessee Boys State, went to Tennessee Governors School, and is planning on attending Boys Nation.  Officer said his biggest takeaway from the American Legion program was gaining the ability to learn how to communicate with others, especially under difficult circumstances.

“The whole time I was at Boys State, I actually never saw the face of any of the people I was talking to,” Officer said. “I only saw what we could see online. And so learning to communicate and work together regardless of the situation whether it’s talking in person like face-to-face, or having to speak online via voice chat it was really an interesting experience to see how people can come together and work together.”

Officer said that Boys State with the American Legion is an opportunity for rising seniors to experience what working in state government can entail. He ran on the platform of “Unity, Brotherhood and Communication.”

“Because when I ran for Governor, that’s what I felt was lacking in modern-day politics,” Officer said. “Was the idea that we are still one people, that was the unity. The ability to communicate among everyone regardless of background, and the ability to realize that at Boys State we’re all brothers moving towards the same goal.”

For the election, Boys State creates a fictional two-party system similar to how the United States operates. First you run for primary candidate in your own party, and then you run in a general election.

Officer said he plans on attending Tennessee Tech to study cybersecurity. After recently going to the Governor’s School, Officer said he’d also be interested in getting an additional degree in history.

Officer said when he goes to the national program, Boys Nation, he believes he will try to run for president. But Officer said that more importantly, attending Boys Nation is an opportunity to take what he learned at Boys State to a national level.