In the spring, Vernon Hills High School’s Junior State of America (JSA) club was named “Chapter of the Year” for the Midwest region. To be nominated, applicants had to submit a short video showcasing their activities from the year, including their community activism and school campaigns. The club received a $1000 scholarship for one of its students to attend a JSA summer program at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C as a prize for winning, and was then entered in an even larger contest to be named Chapter of the Nation, which will be announced around early June. Many of the members had been working since freshman year to achieve this honor for JSA.

“The moment when they announced our win was incredible; a year’s worth of hard work, and four year’s worth of commitment to JSA, all of a sudden culminated in one of the most memorable moments of my life,” said JSA President Misha Bogdanov (12). “When our chapter won I had to give a speech, but I was so busy choking back tears that I couldn’t formulate anything worthwhile to say. I quite honestly don’t know how to describe how I felt, it was just incredible.”

Misha and the rest of the executive board were extremely devoted to pushing JSA toward achieving Chapter of the Year. The club participated in various activities, including its Fight Apathy campaign where students filled out a nametag saying “I believe in…” and were entered in a raffle to win a Chipotle gift card. Illinois senator Mark Kirk also participated in Fight Apathy, filling out his nametag to say he believed in ending human trafficking. Vaibhav Shastry (12), who was the club’s director of activism, made a commitment to getting JSA involved in things like Feed My Starving Children and donating to Toys for Tots. Numerous JSA members also worked on political campaigns on the weekends for a candidate of their choice, which helped highlight the chapter’s devotion to politics outside of JSA. In addition, the club gained an entirely new wave of members this year. Misha promised to shave “JSA” into the side of his head if there were 40 members that attended the Fall State Convention in Madison, Wisconsin; there ended up being 41 attendees–a school record for convention attendance–and Misha fulfilled his promise.

“I feel like our expansion was a really big part in what helped us win Chapter of the Year,” explained JSA Director of Promotions, Isabella Kosoglaz (11). “Our chapter gained so many new vivacious and active JSA-ers from every grade. With their passion and the executive board’s hard work in making sure that VHHS JSA was involved in every opportunity that JSA brings, like summer school and cabinet, it really made us stand out.”

The club’s achievements also made them stand out. Naren Akurati (12), JSA’s vice president, had the honor of winning Statesman of the Year, which is an award based on achievement and devotion to JSA principles. “I served as Midwest JSA Convention Coordinator this past year, and I always let my detailed personality bleed into the job—I always did my best to do things without error,” explained Naren. “Looking back on it, I feel like it was exactly this meticulous nature that pushed me towards this award. But at the time of receiving the award, I was surprised—very surprised actually—because I thought I was always just doing my job.”

JSA made a focused effort to make politics a more prominent theme in the school community. In November, the club held a mock election and also had a voter registration drive to encourage student participation in the election. They also brought in multiple candidates from political campaigns to speak at the meetings.

“I’m incredibly proud of the students of JSA. I think they’re extremely passionate about politics and about being part of our democracy, which is more than I could ask for,” said JSA advisor Mrs. Orzoff. “I love that we have students that are of every different political ideology coming together and being friends and debating and working together. It would be great if our whole nation could work that way.”

This year’s JSA has certainly left its mark on both the school and the entire JSA community. Congratulations to them and good luck for next year!