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Committee is in Session

Trinity students spent three days immersed in state government during a Model General Assembly conference in downtown Richmond.
During the conference, students participated in a mock legislative session alongside peers from across Virginia. Delegates crafted bills and ushered them through each stage of the legislative process, including committees, initial chambers, crossover committees, crossover chambers and veto override sessions.

The experience took place inside the Virginia State Capitol, where students worked in the same committee rooms, chambers and galleries used by state lawmakers. Participants sat in legislators’ seats and spoke through the same microphones, creating an immersive and realistic environment for civic engagement.

“I, and other Trinity students, came away with a deeper understanding of how Virginia laws are made and whose job it is to make them,” said Julia Jones ’29. “As we debated and voted, amended and researched, I realized that it is the job of everyday Virginians, some of whom participated in the same youth government program that we did, to make for Virginia’s laws. With that realization came the understanding that we too might one day be tasked with making laws for Virginia.”

The conference is part of the Model General Assembly, a longstanding program of Virginia Youth In Government that has operated continuously since 1948. The program brings together high school students from across the Commonwealth to participate in a youth legislature that mirrors the Virginia General Assembly. In addition to legislative programming, the organization offers opportunities focused on the judicial branch through its Model Judiciary Program.

Through the experience, students gain firsthand insight into how laws are made while developing skills in public speaking, research, collaboration and critical thinking. The program also emphasizes civic responsibility and challenges students to navigate compromise and negotiation within the legislative process.

“What impressed me most about Trinity's delegation was its increasing confidence and professionalism over the course of the conference,” said Jamie Suhre, history teacher and faculty adviser to the MGA club at Trinity. “They learned to think critically and adapt to setbacks in real time. The experience clearly pushed them outside of their comfort zones while helping them build skills in communication, problem-solving, and civic engagement!”

In Trinity’s first year participating, Ma’khi Damon ’29 received the 79th Virginia Model General Assembly Distinguished Leader Junior Society Award, and Julia Jones ’29 earned the Distinguished Leader Society Award for their performance during the conference. Trinity was also voted best dressed overall from the conference organizers.

By engaging in hands-on learning inside Virginia’s seat of government, Trinity students left the conference with a deeper understanding of civic life and the role they may one day play in shaping it.

Participating in Trinity’s inaugural appearance: 
Nico Rios ’27 - President
Julia Jones ‘29 - Vice President
Henderson Fisher ’27
Eleanor Hager ’29
Lena O'Shea ’29 
Lyla Gans ’29
Ma'khi Damon ’29
Tatum Featherstone ’26
Gabby Sauvigne ’27
Mary-Ellerson White ’27
Grace Chamberlin ’28
Lucia Vanderpoel ’28
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