What Happens When You Raise The Bar For Young Leaders

Teenagers are debating monetary policy, health care, and constitutional questions on the actual Idaho House floor and they’re doing it with more seriousness than most adults expect. We’re at Patriot Academy’s Leadership Congress to find out why a realistic legislative simulation can change a student’s confidence in a matter of days, and why learning the process is only the beginning. 

We talk with Brady Smith about getting thrown into committee as a first-timer, discovering “my people,” and why the program isn’t just for future politicians. Rebecca Roberts shares what pulled her back year after year: the community, the intentional mentoring, and the difference between a smaller regional congress, the intensity of nationals, and deeper training through the Patriot Institute. If you’ve ever wondered how to teach civic education, public speaking, and leadership training for teens without making it feel dry, this is a clear model. 

Then Janessa Polk, now helping run the congress, explains the “leadership laboratory” idea: high standards, real microphones, real debate, and the kind of positive peer pressure that makes young people rise. We also dig into the faith component, patience, and the way purpose fuels the hard work behind the scenes. 

If you care about biblical worldview, constitutional principles, and building capable communicators for the next generation, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a parent or student who needs a push, and leave a review telling us what leadership skill you want young people to master next.

Transcript

Rick Green [00:00:07] Welcome to the intersection of faith and culture. It's The WallBuilders Show. Taking on the hot topics of the day from a biblical, historical, and constitutional perspective coming to you from the Idaho State Capitol for Patriot Academy's Leadership Congress here. I think it's our 15th year, maybe 16th year. But the guy I've got sitting next to me probably remembers this. Brady Smith is with me. One of our wonderful team members of Patriot academy has been part of the Idaho Academy since it started. But initially came to Texas. Brady, thanks for coming on, man. 

Brady Smith [00:00:33] That's right, I haven't been around that long. 

Rick Green [00:00:35] That long, so we're sitting outside the house floor. They got a lot of young people in there, some of them first time, in fact, a lot of them, first time they've done anything like this. And you remember what that was like when you came to Texas, how old were you when you first came to Patriot Academy? 16 years old. 16, how are you today? Do you want to talk about that? So it was more than 15 years ago. 

Brady Smith [00:00:55] 15 years, yes. 

Rick Green [00:00:56] You've got kids now, you're gonna have grandkids coming to Patriot Academy at some point, but let's get the kids through first. 

Brady Smith [00:01:00] That's the plan. 

Rick Green [00:01:01] So this is, it's cool to be here. I love the Idaho Capitol, first of all, because it's just compact, everything's nice. It's marble, gorgeous. It's just, you know, the committee rooms are close. I love this place. But man, we've had a lot of young people come through here and have life-changing experiences. Tell our audience a little bit about how Patriot Academy affected you, and then we'll talk about some of these students that are here this year. 

Brady Smith [00:01:20] Yeah, Patriot Academy, when I first got involved, well, I first heard about it, actually, earlier, before I was able to attend. And I'd been writing letters to the editor as this political nerd. 

Rick Green [00:01:31] At 16. 

Brady Smith [00:01:31] Well, at 13. 

Rick Green [00:01:33] At 13, you're writing letters. 

Brady Smith [00:01:34] Yeah, I'm making church and state arguments between me and adults who didn't know they were arguing with a kid. And I was having fun. My parents were a little panicked, I think, about what do we do with this. 

Rick Green [00:01:44] What have we created? 

Brady Smith [00:01:44] Yeah, Dave Barton's newsletter, we're like, OK, this is where we can kind of point this energy. So That's when I first attended at 16 and yeah just got dumped right into the fire because I showed up late actually walked in on my first committee room committee meeting and they're like all right You're up to present and I had no idea what I was doing. So, but yeah as soon as I was into I was like this this is where I'm supposed to be This is where it's at. And yeah, just been so blessed to be able to be part of it ever since then 

Rick Green [00:02:10] A lot of our listeners may have not ever been to a Leadership Congress or even heard the Bartons and me talk about it on the program, totally foreign to them, rather than me explaining it. What is the Patriot Academy Leadership Congress? 

Brady Smith [00:02:20] Leadership Congress is the most realistic, simulated legislative session for students 16 to 25 years old. You get to actually come to a state capitol or to the Patriot Academy campus. You get to experience the life of a legislator. So you bring your own bill, you work it through the committee process.  You get it on the House floor and debate it back and forth with your fellow legislators, and all the while we train the students in biblical worldview, the legislative process, communication skills. That's huge, a huge part of what we do. But yeah, all that from a biblical and a constitutional perspective. 

Rick Green [00:02:53] And it's a pretty intense week. I mean, we don't give them much time to rest, right? 

Brady Smith [00:02:56] Exactly. Yep,. 

Rick Green [00:02:57] They come in, as soon as, like you said, you walk in on committee, boom, you're thrown into the fire. 

Brady Smith [00:03:01] Well, and what's awesome, too, is it's not just us keeping them up, like, getting them to do stuff. No, I've had students who, they stay up, you know, until one, two in the morning, talking about their bills with their roommates and stuff like that. 

Rick Green [00:03:13] Now we do always tell them not to do that. 

Brady Smith [00:03:15] We tell them to go to sleep.

Rick Green [00:03:16] We tell them to go to sleep, yes. When you go back to your room, because it's going to be a long day, but they never listen to it. 

Brady Smith [00:03:19] They never listen. 

Rick Green [00:03:19] Yeah, because it's fun, you know. That was one of the other cool things, I think, that we created in this 26 years ago, was just an environment where you can meet other young people that think about these things. Like you said, you were writing letters at 13, so you probably write, when you got there, I found my people. 

Brady Smith [00:03:33] I found my people. Yes, that's exactly what I felt. And like you said, it is fun. I think we've had a lot of people who've come from other programs. So, you know, Boys State and that sort of thing. And always the reaction is, oh my goodness, I didn't know it could be this fun. Generally speaking, it's, it's the sort of things where it's not just dry politics and policy and that sorta thing. It's an actual, how do I apply this to my life? 

Rick Green [00:03:52] Yeah, yeah, no doubt. And then we see huge changes. You know, I've had students come, you watched it, that were just so shy, never done any kind of public speaking, never gotten up in front of a group, never really had this kind of social environment and you know very scared when they came. And first of all, getting over that and having that success. In fact, I had a student in Delaware last week, very similar to that. And it was just so cool to watch her overcome her fears. But then they come back second year and now they're kind of bold. Now they're very involved. Then third year, they're running the show. That process is really fun to watch. 

Brady Smith [00:04:21] It's incredible, especially since a lot of the students that come, not all of them, we have a great mix of people, but a lot it's a very conservative homeschool type that's listening to this radio program and they're maybe even on the sheltered side and they just didn't have that exposure and it's way to get that exposure and get that experience and get out of your shell in a very safe environment with people that are there to mentor you and help you and grow you. And like you said, you come back second, third year, it's just a whole different person. It's incredibly to see. 

Rick Green [00:04:50] I can't claim your wedding, but we have had 47 weddings out of this thing too. So it does, you end up meeting that special person sometimes. So I joke with the kids about that a lot, but it's true, 47 weddings. 'Cause it is sometimes hard to find people that share your values and are interested in this kind of stuff. Now, that doesn't mean everybody in this goes into politics, right? Like most of the students that come go into business or ministry or family, whatever, it's not politics. They vote and they're good citizens, but it doesn't become their main focus. You don't have to be political nerds like you and me. 

Brady Smith [00:05:15] Exactly, and that's one of the cool things about like I said, we're not just teaching politics We're teaching them the legislative process But it's it's more of a vehicle for teaching them leadership which can be applied to any area of life. Whatever you end up doing and not only leadership but also that communication skill side of things. And no matter what you do, no matter what avenue of life you pursue, you have to learn to communicate. Whether it's marriage, or kids, or whatever, communication is so key. So these leadership skills that are being taught through the vehicle of the legislative process apply to you no matter what you do. 

Rick Green [00:05:45] It reminds me of our amazing executive director for 11 or 12 years Nathan Maciasi would always say it's a leadership laboratory. So it's literally like a lab that you're putting students into to learn those leadership skills and be honed and sharpened. 

Brady Smith [00:05:59] Yeah. 

Rick Green [00:05:59] Okay so let's talk about the the students that are here now we got 16 up to 25 they're on the floor we can see them through the glass they're debating bills I mean this is the actual Idaho House Floor this is where the real legislature meets every year. 

Brady Smith [00:06:13] Yeah, it's just an incredible privilege that we get to do this as state capitals around the country. Idaho is particularly gracious. They don't they don't have security on the doors. You can bring in your pocket knife and stuff. It's an amazing capital. But Patriot Academy Leadership Congress, we built a reputation. The the capitals know they can trust us to take good care of it and just gives you a little hint of the the caliber and the quality of the people. That these students that are here, they're the kind of people that you want leading this country. 

Rick Green [00:06:41] Yeah. Yeah, no doubt. The bills, so that the topics that these students bring always, it always amazes me. I mean, there's always the typical, I just want to ban abortion or I want to, you know, get rid of this tax or whatever. But I mean we've watched these students debate monetary policy. We watched them debate health care. I mean they get into some pretty heady stuff that sometimes I'm sitting back going, oh, I need, I think I need GROK right now. 

Brady Smith [00:07:02] Let me look this up really quick. No, 100% and it's cool to the different perspectives because a lot of times a student will bring a bill and I didn't even know that was an issue. I didn't know that something that was, and I feel like I'm pretty involved in this whole political sphere. And so yeah, getting your eyes open to new stuff is always really exciting. And again, the caliber of these people and these students, they're on top of it. It's amazing. 

Rick Green [00:07:23] Well, we've got, you know, we do six or seven of these around the country in the summer are going to continue to add states. It's opportunity for, for people to get involved that want to make a difference. If they want to send a kid to Patriot Academy, it's PatriotAcademy.com. The leadership Congress has happened throughout the summer. We still got a big one coming up last week of July. This is our last here in Idaho. As we sit today, this is our last regional academy, but we'll be at the Patriot Academy campus this summer. At the end of July for the National Leadership Congress. So some of these students actually that are here for the first time, we've still got a few slots, Brady. We need to go work on these kiddos and encourage them to see how spontaneous they are. That's what, two weeks they'd had to? They gotta pack fast and raise some scholarship money really, really quick. In fact, let's just make that the last thing. What would you say to parents about this being a place that would be a good place to send their student next summer if this July is obviously too late? 

Brady Smith [00:08:11] Yeah, I mean, like I said, I've been involved in this for a long time and I've seen so many lives changed. But I, speaking from my own perspective, I would not be where I am today. I would be who I am without Patriot Academy. It has literally changed my life, the entire trajectory of my life. Give me so many skills, so much confidence, the network that I've built. I mean if you want to set your kid up for success, even if they're not interested in politics, like you said, it's for anyone who's going to lead or who should lead and that's everyone. It's for anyone who's going to communicate, and that's everyone. If you want to set your kid up for success, I highly recommend Patriot Academy's Leadership Congress. I don't think there's anything better that you could do for your kid during the summer. 

Rick Green [00:08:48] Man, I'm glad we were recording. I'm going to use that in the future, Brady. That was great. Thank you so much for stepping off the floor and man go whip those students into shape. And get some of them to come to the nationals. 

Brady Smith [00:08:56] Here we go. 

Rick Green [00:08:56] That's Brady Smith. Stay with us folks. We'll be right back on the WallBuilder Show. 

Rick Green [00:10:06] Welcome back to the WallBuilders Show. Thanks for staying with us. We're at the Idaho State Capitol for Patriot Academy's Leadership Congress here, 15th year that we've been here. We do these all over the country in state capitals. And of course, it's for the purpose of training up the next generation. And we've added now the Patriot Institute at the Patriots Academy campus. And one of the students who's been through both Leadership Congress and the Patriot Institute is with me here helping to put on this particular Patriot Academy Leadership Congress, Rebecca Roberts with me. Rebecca, thanks for coming on. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:10:32] Absolutely. Thank you, Mr. Rick. 

Rick Green [00:10:33] Well, this is your home state, so we're back to your home state. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:10:36] Yes, sir. 

Rick Green [00:10:36] You've been here with us at the campus in Constitution City, Texas. And if I remember right, this was your first capitol to do a Leadership Congress, right? OK, so walk us through our audiences. Some of them are familiar with Patriot Academy because they're longtime Wild Bowlers listeners. Others never heard of it before. I just had Brady Smith on, and he was talking about his experience. So they've heard a little bit about how it works. What attracted you to the idea of, in the middle of the summer, coming and dressing up and spending a few days at the state capitol? 

Rebecca Roberts [00:11:01] Well, initially, when I first heard about it, I was interested in simply learning the process and meeting other young people that had similar passions to mine who were interested in politics from a biblical perspective and who were interesting in learning more about the founding of our country and really the Christian basis of it. But after my first time here, my experience in really getting to know what Patriot Academy Leadership Congresses were, I really became attracted to the community in general and just the absolute passion these people have for excellence. And to really learn the process and to pour into one another. And that has simply been an absolutely amazing experience that I have come back for every year that I can. 

Rick Green [00:11:37] How many years now that you've been through the academy? 

Rebecca Roberts [00:11:39] This is my fourth year in my fifth academy. 

Rick Green [00:11:41] All right, okay, so what was the difference between coming to Idaho Capitol and then going to the National Leadership Congress or even then the full year at the Patriot Institute? 

Rebecca Roberts [00:11:50] Wildly different experiences, but each so amazing in their own way. With Idaho, what I really appreciate about this regional is it is smaller, but that gives you much more time for one-on-one with your mentees and with talking with leadership, and you really get a lot more time to learn and pour into the other people here and really get to know the process on a much deeper level. At Nationals, where it's much larger, I think this last year we had 140 people there. 

Rick Green [00:12:12] Yeah. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:12:13] It was really amazing. But we got to see a much more intense. And really get to see, if you will, a more realistic representation because of the huge diverse perspectives and viewpoints that were coming in and just the different angles that were being taken on bills. It felt very, very real as compared to what I've seen in real-life Congresses. And then compared to the one-month intensive, which is kind of my stepping stone from Congresses... 

Rick Green [00:12:37] Went from three-day regional, to one-week nationals, to one month intensive. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:12:41] Just walked up a ladder but that was also amazing because we threw in so many other things which ultimately became part of our one-year program. We threw in some of the more the practical hands-on learning how to run maintenance on vehicles, building things around the campus. That was that was an absolute joy. 

Rick Green [00:12:56] And some real life skills. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:12:57] Yes, along with some of the underlying foundational things that are referenced here but that we don't have time to get into at the three-day or the one-week Congresses, like apologetics, and like philosophy and worldview and more in-depth public speak communication. And then, of course, we just expanded on all of that and more at the one year. 

Rick Green [00:13:13] I love it. I love It. You said use the word real several times. What is it like to be in the real Capitol, like on the real floor, in the real committees? I mean, y'all are living the life of a legislator. And thankfully, the new legislators here in the Capitol have been willing to let let us use their facility. How much more? What's that like just to be in those rooms even? 

Rebecca Roberts [00:13:31] It is so amazing! Now I may be a little bit biased because I am from Idaho and I have only been to the Idaho Capitol before, but from everybody I've talked to in my personal experience is one of the most beautiful state capitals I have ever visited. 

Rick Green [00:13:42] Well, you weren't sitting here a few minutes ago, I said the same thing as a Texan, so you're not wrong, and I was talking about how beautiful your capital is. Honestly, you can go back and listen to the program to know I'm being truthful. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:13:53] Perfect, but yes, it's just such an amazing building. It has so much historical weight. We just heard from the President of the Idaho Family Policy Center about a lot of the founding of our Idaho Constitution and Idaho State and a lot of the debates that were held. And just to know the history behind the people that have sat in this room and gone before us and who have passed laws here. 

Rick Green [00:14:12] That was Blaine, right? 

Rebecca Roberts [00:14:13] Yes, it was. 

Rick Green [00:14:13] And so good. I love listening to him. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:14:15] Amazing presentation. But just to know the weight of history that has been done here and just the significance of this building, so beautiful. And to know that we're sitting in the same seats where the actual legislators sit is pretty amazing. Pretty cool 

Rick Green [00:14:27] Okay, that might intimidate some. They may be like, oh, I don't know if I want to be, you know, thrown into that mix, or Brady and Rebecca both have talked about speaking and communication, that sort of thing. I've never done anything like that. What do you say to a young person that's listening right now, or a parent that's thinking, I don't know, that may be too much for them, because a lot of students get intimidated because they're not actually here. It's hard to describe everything, so sometimes it can sound like, wow, I just wouldn't fit into that. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:14:50] Yes. Well, my first year when I came I was actually 15, so I was a year under the usual age limit. So I was very intimidated. I was already... 

Rick Green [00:14:56] We've been making exceptions for you for a long time, because you... 

Rebecca Roberts [00:14:59] You have indeed. 

Rick Green [00:15:00] Anyways, sorry, go ahead, I didn't mean to interrupt you. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:15:02] But I was very, I was already very shy, very intimidated by many of these, these similar public speaking related things. So I was a very intimidated and very afraid that I would be a little bit behind the curve, if you will. However, coming here and like I said, one of the things I love about the smaller Congress is the intentionality that the senators, the more experienced alumni, the leadership took to bring the freshmen up to speed and to show them around and make sure that they have, they know what they're doing and things are very clear. They are very, very intentional about making sure that you can feel as confident as you can. They try to make sure that, you know, where you're supposed to be. You're staying with your committee. They're guiding you through this process every step of the way. And that is just a really beautiful, amazing thing that I love about Idaho particularly. 

Rick Green [00:15:46] I think that's something that people need to get a hold of when you come to something like this This is not a this is not a competition where people are going to try to run you down or or defeat you. Even your fellow students are pulling for you. They want you to do better and of course the staff and then and now you see that as one of the mentors, it's actually mentoring this next this next group. It's an environment where everybody's wanting you to. Do well Yes, this true iron sharpening. I mean for the purpose of improvement 

Rebecca Roberts [00:16:08] It is a beautiful environment to succeed in, especially to fail in, because we're all here with the same thing. We've all been there. We've had a bill not make it to the floor. We've been too afraid at some point or forgotten what we were supposed to say, but we've also pulled through, overcame, and now have the amazing opportunity to pour in and to help that next freshman and that next first year representative to overcome those same fears, and it's a really beautiful thing. 

Rick Green [00:16:33] I think I'm watching you, you're 18, and you're already now on the mentoring side of this. You're still being mentored by older students and staff, but you're getting to give back. You're getting the coach these younger students as they come in, or even older students that are first timers. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:16:48] I do. It's pretty amazing. In fact, I think my mentee is up there right now giving her house joint resolution. 

Rick Green [00:16:53] So you need to get out of here and get up there and help her 

Rebecca Roberts [00:16:56] Maybe. 

Rick Green [00:16:56] Alright. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:16:57] But she' doing a really good job. So I'm very proud of her and just really blessed to have been able to pour into all these freshmen and young students 

Rick Green [00:17:03] Well, Rebecca, we're super proud of you, super excited to have you on the team, and look forward to the rest of this leadership congress. Thanks for taking some time. 

Rebecca Roberts [00:17:10] Absolutely. Thanks, Mr. Rick. 

Rick Green [00:17:10] That's Rebecca Roberts, we'll be right back, quick break, you're listening to The WallBuilders Show. 

Rick Green [00:18:20] Welcome back to The WallBuilders Show. Thanks for staying with us still at the Idaho State Capitol, having one of our best regional leadership congresses we've ever had. Great group of kids, incredible team putting this thing on. I'll tell you what, now that we're doing these all over the country and our schedule's so crazy and Patriot Academy's doing so much, I have a hard time making it to all these programs, certainly not for the full three days in these regionals. And part of what gives me peace is that we have an amazing Patriot Academy team that puts these on and our Leadership Congress Coordinators here with us, Janessa Pogue, who started here in Idaho. So Janessa, thank you for coming on The WallBuilders Program. 

Janessa Pogue [00:18:50] Thank you Mr. Rick, it is a pleasure to be here. This is definitely my favorite Leadership Congress, obviously it's my home state. Plus it is the most beautiful capital in the country as far as I'm concerned. 

Rick Green [00:18:58] Now, our listeners don't know this, but you and Rebecca and Brady had no idea the other ones were being interviewed or what they said. And I started the interview with Brady talking about how beautiful the Capitol was, then Rebecca talked about how beautiful the Capitol is. And so we didn't set this up, listeners, just so you know, it is a gorgeous Capitol. 

Speaker 6 [00:19:13] We're all just trying to drive it home to Rick that the Texas Capitol is the second most beautiful Capitol. 

Rick Green [00:19:16] Oh, I can't go that far, can't that far. But you know what's so cool about this one, I was mentioning this to Brady and you as the coordinator, I obviously recognize this. I love the layout. It's so easy to get the students from committee, to floor, to the auditorium where we're doing, I just love it. 

Janessa Pogue [00:19:30] It's beautiful, logistics becomes a breeze. 

Rick Green [00:19:32] Yeah, okay, now remind me your first time, did you come to regional here or nationals? 

Janessa Pogue [00:19:36] Regional first here in 2021, yes. 

Rick Green [00:19:38] Okay, so you did start here at this capital. Okay, what's it like to have started here as a student and now you're running the leadership congress? 

Janessa Pogue [00:19:44] Oh my gosh. You see God's hand in everything. It is so full circle. It was especially full circle for me last year because that was the first year I was helping to run as a coordinator for Leadership Congress. It made me emotional more than once to walk in here realizing how much God has done in five years. But it's even more this year because it's now six years since I attended here as a student on the age gap level. I was 25 when I came here. That was the last year. And my story with Patriot Academy is everything I got to do with Patriots Academy from that point on was always one step ahead, one more door open, one last year with Patriot Academy, one more last year. And here I am, and I'm here and I love it and I don't know when it's in and I hope it doesn't in soon at all. And just knowing that God can take you so far in six years that I have no idea how to guess ahead, just to be excited for the adventure. One of the things Brady talked about in our devotional today is that history plus patience equals faith. And how my story with Patriot Academy is the same way, to rely on the history that God has brought me this far, to have patience that one door at a time needed to be open, not my whole life story be opened at the same time, and truly I have faith in Him moving forward because how He has been faithful to me in the past. 

Rick Green [00:20:55] It's been beautiful to watch for sure. And you become an integral part of the team. A lot of people don't understand why we in the nonprofit world, especially a program like this, we put in so many hours, we worked so hard for so little pay, but the reward is what we're getting to watch right now. These students out here on the house floor. Talk about that a little bit, just the privilege and the joy of watching these young people come in here, scared to death sometimes right off the bat. And then at the end, just the joy as they've received their certificate and their torch and all that. It's awesome to watch the difference it makes in their lives. 

Janessa Pogue [00:21:25] Well, just even today, it's crazy, and even last night, there was a freshman student who was on the edge of panic because of the amount of realistic simulation that we have here. And she was just trying to work through it in high stress and getting to talk her off the ledge, as it were, of being stressful and realize that this is a place to learn. It is realistic on purpose, that's by design. But in there, the ability to learn and see God's hand in the learning is so high. And just getting... As another student, I just got a chance to encourage him as he's stepping forth in world-changing, his organization was built through and inspired by Patriot Academy, Statesman Youth. And I got to talk with him and he says, thank you so much for being encouragement. Thank you so much for bringing jet fuel to who I am. And I was like turn around to him and be like, this is jet fuel to me. It is as much a jet fuel as it is to you. This is so much more worth. We only have one life to live for Christ, and spending it doing mundane, nine to five things is not my idea of living my one life for Christ. It is to live, for joy, it is to bring that light bulb moment on for students, and I get to do that every single day. I don't care what I get paid. I would honestly work here if I didn't get paid, I really would, I've learned so much here in getting to pour joy and pour the light bulb light of Christ into these students and get every opportunity to present the gospel and encourage them and to give them their identity in Christ is my joy. The logistics and the simulation is just a bonus, but we use the process to teach the process, and in the middle we share the gospel every single waking week. 

Rick Green [00:22:52] Brady and I were just talking about the process really and all of these and kind of the window dressing is what our, you know, wonderful executive director for years, Nathan Macias, used to say it's a leadership laboratory. And so that's really what all of that just is kind of it's what gets them here. But then it's giving God, giving opportunities for moments of inspiration that God gives them. And then with each other. I mean all of those things so that's kind of why we can deal with, I know you and the team got stuck in an airport last weekend,. I got stuck in there. I mean travel has been crazy for all of us. It's what... 

Janessa Pogue [00:23:21] Part of the adventure. 

Rick Green [00:23:21] Yes part of the adventure no sleep, but it's well, well worth it to get to see these students. The laboratory that we're talking about here for people to be able to envision this, I mean we're on the real house floor right now, these students are using the real microphones, we've got a speaker up there at the at the dais that is using the exact same phrases. It's just like a real session. People often come into our I don't want to say fake, our simulation. And they say, wow, the legislators in this state are young because it feels so real. They actually think it's the real session going on. How important is that, you think, to their kind of having that epiphany moment? You know what, I can be a leader. I can make a difference. I can impact what's going on, maybe not become a legislator, but maybe become a legislator. But there's something about sitting in the real chair, using the real microphones, going through this debate, that something suddenly, the switch flips and you go, maybe I could do something like this. Does that make sense? I don't know if that was a long question. It wasn't a good setup. 

Janessa Pogue [00:24:15] No, but I know I know what you mean because I've been there done that. I was a student here first. I walked away after those three days. In fact, it was probably sooner into those three days, 2021, when I came. I walked away thinking, I feel so empowered, I could literally go talk to anybody on the planet. Now that is a little bit of an overachiever and I'm probably way too optimistic. But I felt that I felt like I was fully equipped to go literally talk to anybody on the planet and get my point across and at least have a decent conversation without quivering in my boots doing it. And being able to not be able to speak or convey an idea. It is extremely empowering. And being here in a professional standpoint where there's high standards, young people, they love it when the bar is raised. So raise the bar that will meet it. They love it. They really, and they don't even know they love it until they have a bar to meet. And then they meet that bar and then they exceed it. For instance, you spoke of our speaker that's actually my younger brother, my youngest brother that I recruited to get to be here. He is now Speaker of the House, standing up on that dais right now, because I recruited him to say, this is an empowering, equipping place where the bar is high, and he ate that up. Even from the professional dress code, to the logistics, to literally being in this beautiful capital, the bar's high in everything they do, and it's with their peers. So it's positive peer pressure all the way. It's positive powerful peer pressure that leaves you equipped and empowered. 

Rick Green [00:25:33] I love that. That's actually a good thing to leave it on today because we often say seek discomfort. I've heard a lot of students say, you pushed me out of my comfort zone to make me try something and I improved as a result of it. And really what you're saying to even the parents that are listening right now, the students that are listen, even if you don't get a chance to come to a Leadership Congress, raise the bar, set those high goals. Don't sell this generation short. You know, they are, I think God's calling them. 

Janessa Pogue [00:25:56] You're doing them a disfavor by setting low bars. 

Rick Green [00:25:58] There's a remnant here that is rising if we'll give them the challenge to do so. Janessa Pogue, God bless you. Thank you for coming on the WallBuilders Show. 

Janessa Pogue [00:26:04] Thank you so much and I appreciate the interview. This has been a real pleasure. Thank you. 

Rick Green [00:26:07] Alright folks, go to PatriotAcademy.com. It's too late to go to any of the regionals this year. Do we have, actually Janessa's here, I can ask, do we have any slots left for nationals? 

Janessa Pogue [00:26:14] We are very close to full. We're about to cap it, so if you want to apply for nationals, it needs to be today. 

Rick Green [00:26:19] All right, go to the website right now, PatriotAcademy.com. National Leadership Congress is the last week of July, July 26th through August 1st. And if not, then next year, start looking at next summer. We'll probably not add those dates up until November or so, but. 

Speaker 7 [00:26:32] For Nationals, it's always the last week of July, first week of August. 

Rick Green [00:26:34] Oh, there you go. You can plan for that one now. 

Speaker 7 [00:26:36] Plan for nationals now. You can fundraise. 

Rick Green [00:26:37] You can fundraise. Yes, lots of great opportunities. Check it out at PatriotAcademy.com. Thanks so much for listening. You've been listening to The WallBuilders Show.