Youth Voices from Texas Boys State: Lincoln Mitchell and Avi Singleterry on Leadership, Connection, and What Comes Next

In the heart of Texas, a week-long immersion into government, campaigning, and civic life leaves lasting marks on the young men who take part. American Legion Texas Boys State brings high school juniors and seniors together from every corner of the state for an intensive simulation of state government. Two Rockport-area participants, Lincoln Mitchell and Avi Singleterry, returned with different paths through the experience and shared reflections that speak directly to young people navigating friendships, ambition, and a divided world.

Lincoln Mitchell, a rising senior headed for Texas A&M, did not enter Boys State with dreams of elected office. “I’m not running for office,” he said plainly. What stayed with him was the human side.

He got to see the Capitol Building and meet people “from all walks of Texas.” Some moments were tougher than others, but the positives dominated. “I met some of the best people I’ve ever seen,” he recalled. Coming from the Texas coast and noting he is not originally from the state, he was struck by how different the hometowns of his peers felt. Places he had never heard of became real through the young men who lived there.

When asked what the program is really about, Lincoln offered a clear-eyed take: “It’s more about learning how to gain voters, in my opinion anyway. And the more charismatic you are, it doesn’t matter what you’re saying. You can gain a following.” He absorbed the mechanics of bills and process, yet the deeper lesson was relational. “The old saying, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. It’s very important. That’s how I’ve got my jobs.”

His mother, Jenny Vanderplume, watched with quiet pride. Neither parent pushed a political future on Lincoln. They simply encouraged him to seize the opportunity. “When this opportunity came up, he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to go, because he doesn’t have eyes on a political life,” she explained. Seeing him return talking about the young men he met mattered most. “As a parent, you always kind of want to see them. I could then picture Lincoln with all these other young men, and meeting people, and learning about them.”

Jenny, who is also not originally from Texas and remembered a similar program from her own Missouri upbringing, framed the bigger picture. Relationships sit at the heart of community, neighborhood, and family. “A rising tide truly raises all boats. I know we can be so, so divided now. And then I see these boys up there talking about meeting others and relationships, and I think, okay, yes.”

Avi Singleterry experienced Boys State through a more hands-on legislative lens and came away energized about future public service. He loved nearly every part of it, thoroughly in and out.

Before elections even began, the simple joy of meeting peers from across Texas stood out. In the Rockport area, wrestling is still new. At Boys State, it felt universal. “It was nice to go there, and it felt like everybody wrestled. That was just a small thing that I really liked, just meeting people from all over Texas. It’s just such a great state. So many great people.”

Assigned to the Nationalist Party, Avi aimed for the House of Representatives rather than a statewide office. He campaigned hard in the early days, collected handshakes and conversations, and won election almost unanimously from his county. While others spent the full week chasing signatures for bigger races, Avi was already inside the chamber with more than 130 other young men who cared about parliamentary procedure and how a bill becomes law.

He served on the Foreign Affairs Committee, helping shape ideas around trade incentives with Mexico that could benefit small businesses, avocados, tequila, and more. He also stepped to the floor to argue against a popular-sounding property-tax cut for new homeowners that lacked any plan to replace the lost revenue. “I had to say, hey, there’s no safety net for this bill. It’s just offering pretty much free money to people to buy houses without any way to recover it.” He helped sway the House to vote it down.

Capitol Day sealed the experience. Sitting in the actual seats of the Texas House of Representatives, some even in the Speaker’s chair, felt surreal. “It was just absolutely fantastic. I still have pictures from that.”

Looking ahead, Avi is open to running for office someday- Congress, state office, or something else. “I’d love to be involved, and I love being able to be a voice for the people.”

The single biggest takeaway he carries: “At the end of the day, no matter where you’re from, we’re all Americans, and we’re all Texans. Fundamentally, most people aren’t filled with malice and want to make the country worse. Through communication, you can really get into a person’s heart and understand them. Why did you say this? Why do you think this? What do you truly believe? And how am I like you? How am I different?”

Lincoln and Avi took different routes through the same week, one focused more on campaigning and relationships outside the formal process, the other deep inside committee work and floor debate. Both came away emphasizing the same truth: the young men they met, the conversations they had, and the realization that people across differences often share core hopes.

For other teenagers watching from the sidelines, their stories offer a practical message. You do not have to plan a political career to benefit from learning how government works, how campaigns operate, or how to talk across divides. Showing up, listening hard, and building real connections can change how you see your state and yourself.

Texas Boys State is not just a simulation. For Lincoln Mitchell and Avi Singleterry, it became a week of meeting strangers who became friends, testing ideas in real time, and discovering that relationships, whether in politics or everyday life, are the thread that holds communities together. That lesson travels far beyond the Capitol steps.