DRAPER — Samantha Harker, an incoming senior at Juan Diego Catholic High School, spent the first week of her summer back in the classroom but learning subjects not offered in her usual classrooms, such as how to organize a city budget and lead a city council meeting.
Harker was one of more than 200 students from across the state who attended Girls State June 6-10 at Weber State University. The program, sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, has been in existence since 1946 and is “the country’s premiere summer youth program designed to develop leadership and promote civic responsibility in young women,” according to its website.
Julie Holly from Juan Diego Catholic High School and Mercedes Randhahn from St. Joseph Catholic High School also were accepted into this year’s Girls State program but were unable to attend.
At Girls State, participants can launch campaigns and run for office and draft and debate legislation while creating and running a state or city of their own. They earn three university credit hours in political science in the process. They also have the opportunity to elect student senators to represent the state at Girls Nation in Washington, D.C.
This year the event was packed with speakers and meetings, said Harker, who filled the role of city recorder of a fictitious city called Walker. Her favorite part of the program was getting to hear from numerous female leaders in business and politics, she said. “It was very, very cool to hear them all speak.”
Harker encourages other young women to take the opportunity to attend Girls State in the future.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity; it taught me a lot about government and how our whole system works,” she said. “Even if they’re not interested in that specifically, it’s a really good place to get your name out there to other people that might be influential in your future. It was also a really good experience to get to know so many girls.”
At the conclusion of the event, Harker was one of several participants who received a full-ride scholarship to Weber State.
Each year, Catholic Woman’s League offers scholarships to Girls State that help with the cost of attending the program, said Alexa Maland, the CWL’s scholarship chair. The scholarships are open to all female students who attend Utah Catholic Schools, regardless of their religious affiliation.
“It makes sense in terms of Catholic Social Teaching that we would promote this to help girls reach their potential because this program offers leadership training and provides motivational speakers to help the girls better themselves,” Maland said.
The American Legion Auxiliary is an organization that believes in religious values and also promotes good citizenship through involvement in public affairs, which is in line with Church teaching, she said. “Our faith teaches that we should really be involved to promote peace and justice which is the responsibility of all Catholics.”
Through Girls State “the girls have an opportunity, a window in how to be involved in the future so that they can see themselves as being promoters of peace and justice,” she said. “Our goal is to make sure our Catholic schools are represented and that our Catholic school girls have an opportunity to go. They are representing the values that the school has taught them.”
Girls State is open to female students who have just completed their junior year of high school who receive a recommendation from school officials. Those who are interested in the program and in the CWL scholarships may contact their school counselor for information.
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