Youth and Government, a YMCA program, was established in 1936, in New York. In 1948 it expanded to California and currently in 2025, over 55,000 high school students are in the program nationwide. The Berkeley delegation is the second largest in California, with over 100 students.
Every year, the California Youth and Government program hosts a conference trip to San Luis Obispo in November. Recently, on Veteran’s Day weekend, Berkeley High School students went on this trip, which is lovingly called “Camp Bob” by students. This nickname stems from Camp Roberts, the military base that hosts the over 60 Californian delegations. Upon arrival, students are split into program areas that mimic different areas of our state government. In those programs, they learn about that specific branch of government. For example, in the Appellate Courts program area, students are given old court cases to run through as lawyers and judges. In Legislative houses, students draft bills and propose them to their fellow delegates.
President of the Berkeley delegation Sophie Dreskin, a BHS senior, talked about why she loves the program. “I think that students get a lot out of Youth and Government, including the opportunity to one: learn more about the government in general and systems and how they all work. But also, I think that a lot of students gain a lot of self confidence through areas like public speaking and putting themselves out there more and being able to stand strong on their opinions,” she said. Dreskin also spoke on why she thinks Camp Roberts is an important trip, “It’s an opportunity to meet new delegates from all over the state, while in a less formal setting than our next conference, which will be in Sacramento … it’s more fun. We’re having fun debates just getting to know each other, and it’s a really good opportunity for our delegation to bond with one another,” Dreskin said.
Jane Hood, an advisor for the Berkeley delegation and previous delegate herself, said, “I think it’s an important program for people to find their voice and learn about civic engagement and youth empowerment and feel a community of people who support them.” She then expanded on this, saying, “My favorite part was the lifelong friendships and mentorships that I got out of the program.”
Another important aspect of the Camp Roberts trip is running for elected positions. Students have the opportunity to run for positions like youth governor, chief justice, or secretary of state, just to name a few. A BHS freshman in the Berkeley delegation, Angus Roesler, ran to be the presiding officer of the forum program area. He explained how the job would be leading the sessions at the next conference in Sacramento. Discussing his experience running for a leadership position, Roesler said, “It’s been great. I’ve got to meet some new people, and running for an office really forces me to talk to so many people I’ve never met before. I think that’s been a really great experience for me.”
Camp Roberts is the perfect stress-free experience to increase the civic awareness of students and build confidence in expressing themselves through public speaking. Dreskin mentioned her experience with this, “I’d say my favorite Camp Roberts memory was maybe sophomore year, when I was in a program area called Legislative Houses. And previously, I hadn’t really had the courage to go up and speak in front of my whole program area, but there was one bill that was being debated that I just felt really passionate about, and I went up and spoke, and then that bill passed, and I was just really proud of myself, and I think I gained a lot of confidence through that.”
BHS senior Sophia Nishioka said she would recommend the program to other students. “I think even if you’re not super interested in government, just the skills that it teaches you are things that you can use in literally any facet of your life,” she said, “I’ve learned how to not only speak up myself, but then uplift other people to speak up as well.”
With the Berkeley delegates home from Camp Roberts, they bring back with them new state government knowledge and experiences, close friendships and countless cherished memories.