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Coleman Mulligan and Gwendolyn Petty will participate in the 30th annual YMCA Youth and Government Conference this weekend.

Because of COVID-19, the conference will be conducted remotely this year. Typically, several hundred students venture to Raleigh for a weekend in February to participate in a hands-on look at government, where students are given roles as legislators, judicial members, press and lobbyists.

Students are also elected as governor and lieutenant governor, among other offices. Students get to write and argue their bills in front of other student delegates throughout the conference in an effort to have their bills become “law.”

YMCA Youth and Government is a nationwide civic engagement and servant leadership program that provides students in high school with the opportunity to represent and serve their communities through model government, leadership, professional development, advocacy and service learning.