When Sophia Nicoloudes started eighth grade last summer, she said she did not think she would be involved with something like getting a bill passed to designate a state bee in Illinois.
"I still can't believe how this is still so impactful and how crazy it is that we actually had a change, and we used our voice," she said.
It all started when eighth grade science teacher at Lincoln Middle School Barb Bell heard that community members wanted Illinois to have a state bee.
"We had connected with Rep. Janet Yang Rohr's office, who reached out to see if we would be interested in doing some research to determine which species of bee would be the best state symbol for the state of Illinois," she said.
And after networking with the Sierra Club about Illinois' native bees, she enlisted the help of her 280 eighth graders.
"Every student was involved in the first level of research," she said. "Groups of three students at a time researched one of the top 10 native species to Illinois. Then, small groups did a pitch to their class of why that species should be selected as the state bee."
Lincoln Junior High eighth graders voted on their pick for the state bee and narrowed it down to three: the black and gold bumblebee, the bicolored sweat bee and the American bumblebee.
The back and gold bumblebee is native to Illinois.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Bell said it rewarding for her to see how eager the students were to learn about the bees.
"It was really exciting to see the enthusiasm of the students, even from the early stages, when all of the students were involved with voting and kids were asking and seeking what the feedback was and the outcome," she said. "Seeing students engaged and excited about their learning is a really special place to get to be in."
A vote then went out to all K-12th graders at schools in more than 80 communities throughout Illinois.
"It really was a wide span across the entire state, which felt like a really strong representation of multitude of communities and different students, perspectives and ideas," Bell said.
Illinois students selected the black and gold bumblebee as the proposed state bee.
Barb Bell
Then, three Lincoln Junior High eighth graders Sofia Nicoloudes, Ahanna Patel and Liza DiSanto were selected to bring the research to Springfield to testify before the House of Representatives.
"We were definitely really nervous," Ahanna said. "But we were really assured by Ms. Bell. She helped us so much, and we had put so much time and practice to this that once we got up there and started speaking, everything went smoothly."
Ahanna said she felt honored to be carrying forward the work that all of her classmates contributed to.
"It was just really great that we got to represent our town with us in Springfield, and we were representing all students that have a dream to one day become part of political items," she said.
She said it was well worth all of the work and research. For about a month and a half the three girls would gather during lunch to practice their speeches.
"After I gave my speech, I could still say it because I've memorized it so much," Sophia said. "
She said she's proud of the entire school and the students who helped research all of the bees.
"Even though we were the ones speaking in front of the committee, our research came from hundreds of other students putting their work," she said.
Barb Bell
For Liza, the experience is especially personal. She said she's grown up with a family of lawyers, so she was very interested in the entire lawmaking process.
"It was really interesting seeing the process of how bills get passed, especially bills through student voice and being really a part of it and being the reason why we're going to have a state bee," she said.
She said she hopes officially designating the black and gold bumblebee as Illinois' state bee shows people who live in Illinois the importance of bees in our ecosystem.
"I really wanted more bees to get awareness because they do pollinate so much things in the Midwest, especially in Illinois, with so many crops and farmland," she said. "Bees are just such an impactful thing."
Liza said being able to have this experience with her fellow classmates also reminded her how much young girls can accomplish.
"Just because we're young doesn't mean we're incapable. Just because we're girls doesn't mean we're incapable of making such an important law," she said. "I think that we're all capable of doing something we put our mind to."
A bill naming the black and gold bumblebee as the state bee now awaits Senate approval before advancing to Gov. JB Pritzker.
