Student steps into national politics
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

The four Massachusetts Senators from Girls Nation and Boys Nation Desiree Hamelin, of Ashburnham, Hannah Koeller, of Boxborough, Chris Cataldo, of Quincy, and Liam Concannon, of West Roxbury, with Senator Edward Kennedy outside of his office on Capitol Hill. COURTESY PHOTOS

Desiree Demski-Hamelin spent one week this summer studying the working of the government

The 17-year-old Ashburnham resident was one of two girls to represent the state at the American Legion Auxiliary's 61st annual Girls Nation event.

"I came out of there with a real sense of pride with the country and what it was founded on," she said.

She loved the ability to talk with her peers about current issues. She liked meeting people from across the country with new and different ideas.

"It was really neat that I was with 97 other girls that were informed," Demski-Hamelin.

She also enjoyed the lighter moments of the experience.

"The accents, those were the best," she said.

Demski-Hamelin left Boston's Logan Airport on July 21 and got to spend the week touring and participating in government. After spending a week participating in the state program Girls State.

(Left) Hannah Koeller, of Boxborough, and Desiree Demski-Hamelin with a guard from Massachusetts in the briefing room of the Pentagon. (Right) Demski-Hamelin stands on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, looking out at the Washington Monument during her trip to Washington, DC as part of Girls Nation. COURTESY PHOTOS

According to the programs Web site, it is developed so that "to attend this unique 'hands on' Federal Government training session, one must first have attended a Girls State session and been selected by that state to represent them at Girls Nation. The Girls Nation 'senators' are divided into two political 'parties'. The parties do not reflect the two major political parties in today's system, but allow citizens to gain a special knowledge of how the system works."

There is a corresponding program developed for high school boys.

Demski-Hamelin is the daughter of Bob and Sue of Ashburnham and her younger sister, Tehay, is a sophomore at Oakmont.

She is the incoming editor of the yearbook and will be a captain of the varsity softball team in the spring. She hopes to be going to Mount Holyoke College next year.

Participating in politics

"It was more of an educational experience than the bonding experience I expected," Demski-Hamelin said. It surprised her that there were no icebreakers to introduce the 98 girls to each other as they spent the week in the Nation's Capital.

She said they stuck with a very strict schedule of Senate sessions in the morning and the afternoon with tours during the middle of the day and some evenings.

One of the people she did bond with was the other "Senator" from Massachusetts, Hannah Koeller who is entering her senior year in Boxboro.

"She's a friend I'll have for life," Demski- Hamelin said.

Each of the states was allowed to submit either a resolution or a bill for the Senate to act on and for the members to debate. The group took up issues like HVP vaccinations, embargoes on goods from Cuba and issues of health care.

Demski-Hamelin may not take away all positives from the trip.

"I was so interested in political science but after going through Girls Nation I changed my mind," she said. "It was time consuming and it doesn't feel like we accomplished anything."

She also said she wasn't sure she liked the politicking required to get items passed.

"I can't lie. I can't manipulate. I don't want to get caught up in that," she said.

Seeing the city

Through the course of the week Demski Hamelin got to see the highlights of the Nation's Capital which brought up a variety of emotions.

The visits to Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon were emotional moving, she said. At Arlington Demski-Hamelin was able to see the more than 200 acres of the national cemetery.

"That was incredible … so sad," she said.

The girls created a wreath of Poppy flowers and placed it in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. Demski-Hamelin said she couldn't stop thinking of her grandfather, a World War II veteran, during the visit.

"It was really moving," she said.

On a tour of the Pentagon Demski-Hamelin stood in the spot where the airliner hit the building on Sept. 11, 2001. The expanse of the building that was destroyed by the terrorist attack and which has sense been rebuilt was "so big," she said.

"We stood in the exact place where the plane hit," she said. "Everyone was really respectful."

She was 11 years old and in sixth grade on that Tuesday morning.

"(The visit showed it) was something that happened to real people. It was really moving to me. It really brought it home for me," she said.

The group also visited the war memorials that are placed across the city as well as the Jefferson and Lincoln Monuments. The group also got to visit the White House where they met with President George W. Bush and the US Capitol Building.

"We saw the Dalai Lama when we were at the Jefferson Memorial," she said.

At the Capitol, Demski-Hamelin and the three other representatives to the Nation programs met with Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) by chance. The group was only scheduled to meet with an aid of Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) and finished that discussion early so they stopped in on a hearing Kennedy was chairing.

During one of the breaks, one of the boys noticed that Kennedy in the hallway and called out to him. Kennedy apparently recognized the Boston-accent and stopped to great the group and take pictures.

"He was so excited," Demski-Hamelin said.