Senator John Thune encourages excellence, character and service at Girls State assembly

By Lexis Sherron

In his speech Tuesday morning to Girls State delegates, Sen. John Thune told his own story of participation as a New York delegate at Boys State in 1978.

John Thune represents South Dakota as one of two members in the United States Senate.

Winning election for the House of Representatives in 1996, Thune continued his political career when he chose to run for Senate in 2004.  In 2010, he ran for reelection unopposed.

Using experiences from his own political career, he said he didn’t initially have an interest in politics. Growing up in Murdo, he focused more on participating in sports.

After missing the game-winning shot in a basketball game one year, Thune sat in the locker room until his coach came and told him that track started next week.

Thune said that experience taught him there is “always another day, always another sport, always another opportunity.”

Thune stressed leadership, opportunity and lifelong commitments in excellence, character and service.

Throughout his speech, Thune compared opportunity to doors opening and closing.  When asked what his best life advice would be for the delegates, he encouraged girls not to “be afraid if a door opens” and “to push it open and see what’s on the other side.”

The delegates appreciated the opportunity to hear their Senator take time out of his day to speak to them.  Ellie Krizan, Detroit, said he was influential and gave the girls great advice for the rest of the week.

Thune highlighted a commitment to excellence by saying, “Excellence isn’t perfection.”

He also drew attention to character, saying character is what people do when no one else is looking, even if it’s not the popular choice.

Thune said his office looks for people of character when hiring, because they are always going to be honest and do the right thing.

Thune stressed the importance of being committed to service on a daily basis.

He said he tries to wake up every day and realize it isn’t about him. To accomplish this, Thune urged the delegates to look around and see how they could improve the lives of others by simple actions or their attitudes.

Similar to Krizan, Mckenzie Fjelland, St. Louis, said, “This was a really good experience and really good to know what he had to say.”

In his position, Thune said his favorite part of the job is making a difference in the lives of others, whether it’s helping them become a citizen or adopt a child from abroad.

“The difference makers are thinking about what they can do to improve the lives of people around them,” Thune said. “It’s waking up in the morning and constantly being conscious of what’s around you and looking for opportunities to serve.”

After this, he shared his hopes that some girls would take a look at representing South Dakota in the House, Senate or even as President of the U.S. someday.