DERRY — Not many extracurricular high school activities include shaking hands with the President and watching him wave to you as he takes off from the White House aboard Marine One.

But for Pinkerton Academy junior Patrick Doolittle, that was just one of the highlights of taking part in the weeklong Boys Nation in Washington, D.C., last week.

Boys Nation is sponsored by the American Legion, taking two students from each state’s Boys State forum for a week of education on the structure and function of the federal government.

“On Friday, our last full day, we went to the White House, which was amazing,” said Doolittle. “They tell you that you never know if the President is going to be there, because he’s obviously very busy, but that he could show up at the last second.”

After the students’ tour of the White House, they gathered in the East Room, which traditionally hosts events and important visitors.

“Obama came into the room, and it was amazing,” said Doolittle. “You see him on television all the time and you forget he is a real person. He came around to talk to us and shook our hands, and then we saw him take off in Marine One from the South Lawn.”

The structure of Boys Nation is very similar to Boys State, where students elect legislators and attempt to pass bills, only the focus is on federal issues rather than state issues.

To advance from Boys State to Boys Nation, there are elections at the state level, with the top 12 vote-getters advancing to an interview process.

“In the process, they ask you questions about you and your accomplishments, as well as how much you know about issues at the state and federal level,” Doolittle said.

Once in Washington, D.C., the students work to pass legislation, go on tours and hear from a host of guest speakers.

“We spent a day on Capitol Hill, where we met with senators, and their interns took us out onto the House floor,” said Doolittle. “It was a chance to meet and see people who are extremely powerful and visible.”

Besides meeting the President and other influential lawmakers, Doolittle said the most impressive part of the week was meeting other accomplished students from across the country.

“The delegates were so accomplished, but they were also down to earth,” he said. “I made a lot of great friends, as well as some great contacts for the future.”

Doolittle said he has always been interested in government and looks forward to studying political science or law in college.

“I’ve always been involved and interested in student government,” he said. “But this just solidified the whole thing for me.”

aswift@newstote.com