Juniors Anna Doherty and Maddy Moore have been chosen to attend Girls State from June 17-23 at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas. It is a leadership and citizenship camp offered through the American Legion Auxiliary and offers students a full experience of how the government works.

“I didn’t know what Girls State was at first, so I was a little confused about getting to go,” Doherty said. “Once I learned about it, I was pretty interested. I’m definitely surprised I was nominated, and it was an honor to be selected.”

Girls State creates a team of juniors from across the state who display leadership qualities government officials would need. It exposes them to real world scenarios and allows them to organize their own city, county and state governments. They elect their own officials and learn the duties of various elected positions.

“The program lets us see what it’s like to be in a office and go through laws,” Doherty said. “I’ve heard that people who attend get a lot out of it and learn a lot, so I’m looking forward to being part of it.”

The group of juniors were nominated based on their leadership abilities and selected through two rounds of voting by the Rouse faculty.

“Teachers were asked to nominate girls who they thought demonstrated consistent leadership qualities,” Moore said. “Once a list was made, the counselors shortened it and asked again. This process resulted in the top three people who then interviewed with representatives from Girls State.”

The nominees completed an interview process with representatives from the program, requiring answers to questions about themselves and their goals for the future.

“During the school day, I brought a prepared resumé and interviewed with the three representatives,” Moore said. “It was not as nerve-wracking as I had anticipated, and I left feeling confident in my accomplishments. It was a brief discussion of my goals and progress, and mainly gave them a feel for who I am as a person.”

While at Girls State, the campers will introduce and debate their own bills in a mock legislature. They will also get to visit the State Capitol building in Austin where they can meet state officials.

“The camp is structured to strengthen our understanding of how the world works and what we can do as a citizen to positively impact it,” Moore said. “Following the camp, we will walk into adulthood with greater perspective and the ability to contribute to society.”