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River Meury
River Meury: Curiosity, Communication, and Helena’s Next Generation of Leaders

On a quiet stretch of road just past the Lake Helena Wildlife Management Area, the mornings often begin the same way. Cows graze in a nearby field while cyclists glide past and anglers make their way toward the water. It’s a place where nature and community intersect.

The scene is familiar to River Meury, who grew up right down the road and regularly watches the sunrise cast its long reflections across the lake on his drive to school.

Now a junior at Capital High School, River has lived in Helena his entire life. His parents moved to Montana from Wyoming before he was born and settled on a property near Lake Helena.

Growing up on five acres gave River plenty of room to roam. He remembers spending much of his childhood exploring outside with his sister and another neighborhood child. Gravel roads stretch in every direction, offering them miles to bike as kids.

For River, that exploration was not limited to the outdoors. Inside the Meury household, exploring ideas was just as encouraged. He describes his parents as intellectual people who fostered his innate curiosity, always welcoming his questions and unshakable desire to understand the world.

River laughs when he recalls being described as an “argumentative” child. However, in his family, questioning things was never discouraged, and no topic was off-limits. When conversations at the dinner table grew lively, his parents would quip, “We’re not having an argument. We’re having a discussion. We’re learning.”

Those early experiences, River reflects gratefully, laid the foundation for the person he is becoming.

Puzzles and Problem-Solving

The same curiosity that fueled those early childhood conversations eventually found a natural outlet on Capital High’s Speech and Debate team.

His parents had long joked that debate might be a good fit for him, given how often he followed their requests with the question: “Why?” River chuckles, remembering his countless follow-ups, such as “Why do I have to do the dishes?”

For him, though, those questions were never about arguing. They were about understanding.

River explains that those questions resonate strongly with a sense of curiosity. “Everything I do is through a curious nature. I enjoy approaching things as puzzles.”

The speech and debate team provides the perfect arena for this kind of thinking and fast-paced problem-solving. River competes in legislative debate, a format where students often have little advance knowledge of the topic they’ll be discussing. Instead, they are given broad themes, sometimes something as wide-ranging as “diplomacy,” and must quickly research and write their own bills on the topic.

In this format, competitors bring their own perspectives, opinions, and ideas into the legislation they create. “That feels like complete and utter freedom,” River shares.

Because students do not know what legislation their competitors will introduce, they must respond to those proposals in real-time, constructing arguments and delivering speeches on the spot.

That unpredictability and challenge are exactly what River loves. Impromptu speaking is where he thrives. Being asked to form an argument and speak on it, in the moment, doesn’t make him nervous. It energizes him.

“It’s not that I get nervous anymore,” he says with a smile. “I get very, very excited.”

Debate allows him to delve into topics he might not otherwise explore, such as nuclear energy, environmental policy, emerging technologies, or even speculative ideas like reintroducing extinct species to Arctic ecosystems.

“The world is so fascinating,” River reflects.

Communication as a Pathway to Community

River’s curiosity doesn’t stop with ideas. It also extends to people.

Just as debate allows him to explore complex topics, language and communication help him better understand the perspectives of others. “Communication is the pathway to fostering community,” he says.

That belief has drawn him toward studying foreign languages. He gravitates not only toward learning the language itself, but also toward understanding language trees and how languages across the world have evolved.

“When you study languages, you also study cultures,” he explains. For River, language is more than vocabulary and grammar. It’s a gateway to understanding how people think, how societies develop, and how cultures express their values.

River currently studies two languages, Spanish and German, and serves as president of Capital High’s German Club.

His family has German roots, which first sparked his interest in the language. Before entering high school, he began teaching himself German using the Duolingo app. Last year, he had the opportunity to travel to Germany on a school trip, an experience that left a lasting impression on him.

Germany, he shares, remains his favorite place he has visited. Walking through the Bavaria region, he was captivated by the castles built by King Ludwig II, describing them as some of the most striking architecture he had ever seen. Surrounded by mountains and steeped in history, the structures felt like living examples of how language, culture, geography, and design intertwine.

Back in Helena, River and the German Club have found ways to share those cultural experiences with the community. Each fall, the students participate in Helena’s Art Walk. The Holter Museum hosts them, where they recreate a symbolic section of the Berlin Wall before knocking it down as part of the event.

Moments like these reinforce River’s belief that language is not just about words, but about bringing people together and building community.

Where Curiosity Leads Next

River’s love of puzzles, intellectual challenges, and communication is guiding what comes next.

In the near future, he’s focused on the upcoming National Speech and Debate Tournament, where he and several teammates from Capital High have qualified. It’s been one of the most successful seasons in the program’s history, River says, and he will travel to Richmond, Virginia, to compete in Congressional Debate.

For that event, competitors are not given a set topic. Instead, they write their own legislation on any subject they choose and debate it on the national stage. River already has a clear focus for his bill: the role of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

“It’s personalized healthcare to the most fundamental level. It’s incredible.” He adds, “But the way that we regulate it is going to be the necessity to manage it appropriately.”

The draw of this topic stems from River’s long-term goal of becoming an emergency medicine physician. This career combines many of the elements that excite him most, including fast thinking, problem-solving, and high-pressure decision-making.

“It’s that puzzle,” he explains. “From those symptoms, how can I determine what is happening to the body? And in emergency medicine, there’s a clock you put on it. You’re figuring out that puzzle, and now you have a timeline because you have someone in urgent condition.”

River is currently working toward certifications that will allow him to gain clinical experience while still in high school. Through a health sciences program at Capital High, he is pursuing certification as a Certified Nursing Assistant. He is also enrolled in an EMT course through Helena College, which will allow him to sit for the national emergency medical technician exam.

After graduating from high school, River plans to attend Montana State University for undergrad, citing its strong STEM programs as a major factor. Afterward, he has his eye on the University of Washington for medical school.

Staying close to Montana, at least for this next chapter, feels like the right choice. “This is where my family and friends are,” he says. “I love it here.”

A Young Philosopher: Memento Vivere, Memento Mori

A conversation with River often feels more like speaking with a professor or philosopher as he reflects on life’s bigger questions.

When he talks about leadership, for example, he describes it not as authority, but as responsibility. River credits this outlook to his speech and debate coaches, who modeled that approach themselves.

“Respect is something that is earned through your choices as a leader,” River says. As captain of the speech and debate team, he tries to lead with a soft hand, explaining, “I want to understand people so that I can understand where we should go as a group.”

He also traces many of his values back to his family, who exposed him to a wide range of people, places, and experiences while he was growing up.

One idea that has stayed with him most strongly comes from a pair of Latin phrases: Memento vivere. Memento mori. The translation is simple but powerful: “Remember you must live. Remember you must die.”

To River, those two concepts exist in duality. He interprets memento vivere as a reminder to embrace the opportunities life gives us, while memento mori reminds us that failure is part of being human. “There is a significance to life. And yet at the same time, an insignificance,” River notes.

As he looks ahead, River plans to carry that perspective with him. While he has a clear sense of direction, the advice he would give his younger self has little to do with achievement or planning.

Instead, he would encourage himself to embrace being a kid. “Enjoy the things you have right now. Do not focus so heavily on the future that you are blinded to the present,” he reflects.

Shaping the Future of Our Hometown

On summer evenings in downtown Helena, when the music starts and crowds gather for Alive at Five, you might find River working behind the counter of the Rockstar BBQ food truck.

It’s a job he enjoys for many of the same reasons he is pulled toward speech and debate and foreign languages: it gives him the chance to talk to people and better understand new perspectives.

The same faces often appear week after week. Over time, you begin to recognize people, hear their stories, and build connections that might never happen in a larger city. “Helena is small, so you get to interact with the same people and meet these really incredible and diverse personalities,” River shares.

Stop by the food truck and try the rice bowl, River’s favorite dish, and you might find yourself chatting with a student who debates policy on national stages and is preparing for a future in healthcare.

For a young person whose life is rooted in understanding people and exploring the ideas and systems that influence the world, Helena offers an environment that continues to inspire that curiosity. And River represents something hopeful for the community: the next generation of thoughtful young leaders ready to carry that spirit forward and help shape our hometown’s next chapter.

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