STATE UPDATES· Torch: U.S. · Summer 2021
ILLINOIS
GEORGIA
by RIONA DUNCAN
by MEGHANA RAMINENI
25
The other board members and I wished to create as much of an engaging and welcoming virtual state convention as possible within the given circumstances, and I am happy to say it was a great success. From our livestream of a pre-recorded General Assembly I on the first Saturday to many spirit submissions and participation in social media events throughout the week to our final live General Assembly II on the second Saturday, our GJCL came together to make this state convention memorable and special. Elections for the GJCL Board for 2021-2022 went very well, and participation in many contests during convention was amazing! I released the last Alae Mercurii of my term following our state convention, and it included a summary of convention highlights, a feature of the many graduating seniors in GJCL, a section showcasing the Photo of the Month Contest winners from spring semester, and a look ahead to the virtual national convention this summer. Overall, I think I can speak for the whole 2020-2021 GJCL Board when I say I am very excited to see what our new GJCL officers will do next year to help the GJCL continue to grow onward and upward.
The ILJCL officers have been working hard to keep activities happening since our state convention in February! One of our main achievements has been celebrating National Classics Week. We got a proclamation from the governor and had an event every day, from a movie night to a service project to a trivia game that turned out to be ILJCL against VJCL (which we totally won; I would never lie to you about anything this important). We have started selling merch to create a scholarship fund to help people attend our state convention (please buy from us at redbubble.com/people/iljcl). Furthermore, we’ve restarted our publication, The Nuntius, which has been both beautiful and interesting thanks to our historian Taylor. We’ve also crowned our Illinois Certamen champions: Northside for all high school levels and Wilmette in Junior, who we celebrated over our reinstated Discord server. Now we’re turning our attention to preparing for national convention, which I’m sure is going to be amazing! Follow our social media for more updates.