By Jaelyn Nichols
Tensions and stress levels run extremely high in Appellate Court. Appellate Court participants endure these feelings every minute between trying to make final edits, rehearsing points, and keeping nerves at ease. For those running for an official position, the pressure is much more intense. In the 2018 Youth & Government Conference, there are currently eight Associate Justice Candidates. Many of their speeches talk about how they plan to help future Appellate Court members and how they hope to relieve future members from the stress of conference. Yet, one does not often see a first year YAG member running for Associate Justice. Surprisingly, at this year’s conference, there are two first-year candidates. Connor Kerr, an Associate Justice Candidate, when asked “How do you feel you’ve grown from your first case to your last case?” answered, “... my first case, I felt like I didn’t understand the rubric… I think instantly after that first case it didn't take me long to just come back and say, okay this is exactly what I learned from that case and easily pick up that, and just fix and add more case law.” Other first-year candidates alongside Kerr took different approaches to engage the audience. Opposed to speaking about their first experience as aYAG member, candidates such as Chigamecha Oparanozie and Brad Taber chose to employ comedy in their speeches to enlighten and engage the audience. Taber began his speech by using comic relief on his act of deciphering candidate cash as opposed to actual cash. Oparanozie chose to use his name as a way of releasing tension stating, “Remember, my name will be the long one hanging off the ballot, it starts with a C.” Cason Tevault chose the story-telling aspect while delivering his speech. Tevault also chose to use honesty, stating that when first arriving at conference,he had no idea of what he was doing. Through the many speech tactics, all the candidates expressed one thing in common; they are all dedicated to YAG, especially to the Appellate Court.
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By Amber Sermarini
Youth and Government Chief Justices of 2018, James Vettichira and Connor Roche, shared their experiences with Youth and Government throughout the years. Chief Justice: James Vettichira Q: What influenced you to join Youth and Government? A: My good friend founded the Youth and Government club at my high school. She asked me to join, and I decided to give the program a try. After the conference, I fell in love with the program, and I have attended ever since. Q: How many conferences have you attended? A: This is currently my third Youth and Government conference. Unfortunately, I did not know about the club my freshman year. I'm a senior now and I'm sad to say this is my last conference. Q: Do you see yourself pursuing a career in government? A: Yes. I am very passionate and interested in politics and economic policy. In the future, I hope to become either a senator or maybe even the governor of North Carolina. Q: Tell me about your favorite Youth and Government memory. A: Winning the position of Chief Justice. I was never an associate justice or any other position in Youth and Government, so I had never done anything like this before. I was really nervous at first, but I got the hang of everything and I love my position. Q: What is the biggest challenge of being Chief Justice? A: Judging cases that are equally prepared, because it is hard to choose when both sides have worked equally as hard. Q: What is your greatest Youth and Government achievement? A: It is really hard to pick just one. My greatest Youth and Government achievement would either be winning Chief Justice, or being in an All-Star round. Q: If you could describe Youth and Government in one word, what would it be? A: I would say that it's extraordinary. Youth and Government is such a unique and special program and there is nothing like it. Q: What inspired you to run for Chief Justice? A: Last year my delegation took a trip to Washington, D.C. for the presidential inauguration. On the way to the inauguration the previous associate justice, Emily Sullivan, told me there was not a lot of people running for Chief Justice. So I asked myself, “Why don't I run?” Q: What was your initial reaction when you found out you won? A: I kept telling myself I could do it and that I would win. I wanted to stay optimistic and believe in myself. Of course, there was some doubt in the back of my mind, but I had to forget that in order to stay positive. Q: What advice would you give to someone interested in joining the court of appeals? A: Prepare a lot. One of the most common things I see is people showing up to the conference with little to nothing for their briefs. Q: What advice would you give to someone interested running for Chief Justice? A: Bring out your personality in the speech. Show your bold, funny, and ambitious side. The most important thing to do during your speech is to keep the audience engaged. Chief Justice: Connor Roche Q: What influenced you to join Youth and Government? A: It is a program that taught me something that I didn't know about. I had no idea how government worked and operated. I was intrigued to learn and I figured I'd join to learn more. Q: How many conferences have you attended? A: Four. I started going to the conferences as a freshman and I have gone ever since. Q: Do you see yourself being in a career in the government? A: I don't know, but maybe with being in the Court of Appeals as a Chief Justice, I'd be interested in law. Q: Tell me your favorite Youth and Government memory. A: I have a friend named Dante and he was very shy at first, but I watched him evolve into a very good delegate. He is actually running as an associate justice this year. It is really crazy to see him go on to the next level. Q: What is the biggest challenge of being Chief Justice? A: One of the [hardest] things is getting the schedule right. I spend most of my time on the nights before the next day making sure the schedule’s right, and then posting it. If I think everything is right I'll double check and I always find another mistake to correct. Q: What is your greatest Youth and Government achievement? A: It would be remembering when I was a freshman and I first sat down watching open session. I saw these people up on stage and I thought, “Wow they seem to know what they're doing. They seem like very successful people. I want to be like one of them,” and here I am today, sitting up on that stage looking out to people. I hope someone is like that when they see me up there, and that drives them to achieve greatness as well. Q: If you could describe Youth and Government in one word, what would it be? A: Awesome. I think it's such a great program. I really wish more people from my hometown, Charlotte, would participate. I think it's very useful for teaching a lot of things about government. Q: What inspired you to run for Chief Justice? A: I saw my good friends, Lauren and Abigail, who ran the year before and were elected as Chief Justices. I was the associate under them and I just wanted to follow in their footsteps. I try and give my all to the program and try to make a difference to make it better for everyone else. I saw what they did, and they made a difference. I want to do that as well. Q: What was your initial reaction when you found out you won? A: Complete disbelief. I was shocked– it was amazing. Q: What advice would you give to someone interested in joining the court of appeals? A: Practice, practice, practice, and more practice. Use lots of case law, that really will set you apart from everyone else. Also be able to know what you're going to say and be able to back up what you say. Q: What advice would you give to someone interested running for Chief Justice? A: Do it. If you're on the fence, just do it. It's definitely really good for public speaking. |