Leadership Mountain Brook goes to Montgomery
As student members of Leadership Mountain Brook, junior and senior Spartans spend a lot of time learning about how their city functions, but on Feb. 14, the class went to Montgomery for the first time to get a glimpse of their state’s inner workings.
While many students said they had been to Montgomery when they were younger, they were excited to visit again and learn more about the governmental processes and roles of their representatives. Several students agreed that because they returned again as high school students, they were able to ask more questions and appreciate more of what they have learned.
Together with the help of Rep. David Faulkner, Leadership Mountain Brook was given a tour of the state house that started with the House of Representatives. There, Faulkner explained the general procedures the House follows when in session.
“When you come in here [the House], it’s chaos,” he said, but added that everyone is usually friendly. “The media is usually looking for a story about how we don’t get along, but most of the time we do.”
The students also presented two bills they wrote while in school as if they were representatives — the first bill was on a state lottery, and the second focused on whether or not private school teams should be able to compete against public school teams due to differences in recruiting practices. Faulkner then invited students up to the podiums to voice their reasons for being for or against the bills and allowed them to vote just as the representatives do.
From there, Faulkner took Leadership Mountain Brook to the Senate, where they met and spoke with Sen. Jabo Waggoner. Waggoner explained the general procedures of the Senate when in session, and the group continued on to tour the state capitol. While walking through the capitol, they learned about the history of not only the building but also their state government, and were able to meet and take a photo with Gov. Robert Bentley before hearing from Hoover resident and guest speaker Christian Cooper during lunch.
Cooper, who was in a car accident in February 2016 that left 75 percent of his body severely burned, told the story of his accident and spoke to the group about the power of persistence and a good attitude in any situation.
“Attitude is everything,” he said. “It’s always a big thing to stay strong and keep a positive attitude.”
Cooper later led the House in its opening prayer that afternoon, preceding the Pledge of Allegiance, which starts the House session, led by MBHS 11th-grader Sarah Gladney. The House also recognized the attendance of Leadership Mountain Brook for its work session.
The group’s last stop was the state archives and the judicial branch of the Alabama government, the Supreme Court, where they met with Justice Glenn Murdock.
“I think it’s neat to see … the tangible evidence of history,” said Isabella DeGaris.
Classmate Lily Rucker added that their class is based on leadership, and what they were there to see was leadership in itself, just at a larger level.
“I could see some of us doing this one day,” she said.
Editor's note: This article was edited at 8:30 a.m. on March 31 to clarify the second bill the students discussed.