Virginia Girls state is a prestigious leadership for highschool students that allows them to learn about government and civic engagement through a simulated state government. But what is the week long experience at Girls state really like?
“Applying to Girls’ State during my junior year of highschool was the best decision I ever made, it was a marvelous and unforgettable experience” Loor Elbedour, now a first-year college student, said.
Another student also agrees with this sharing, “It was a look into both what college would be like and definitely a good experience because I got a look into both my future in government and politics and my entire future,” senior Ava Saunders said.
Since Girl’s State is a prestigious leadership program for high school girls, selection is highly competitive with only one or two students selected from each high school in Virginia. However, the competitive process is worth it in the end.
“Although the process for Girls’ State might seem intimidating, I would recommend all females to attend the program regardless of their professional interests,” Elbedour said.
“The program is empowering for female students to be around highly motivated girls like themselves, and it teaches you about the inner workings of our state government,” Elbedour said.
The Girls State Program also allows for higher learning through having many opportunities to meet different people.
“You would have people from across other parts of Virgina and they have a completely different perspective than you on so many things, so it’s interesting getting to talk with them,” Saunders said.
With the program being highly selective and offering many different benefits, students’ schedules often reflected these principles.
“We would wake up very early in the morning, and go to sleep quite late, it was always a packed schedule with so much to learn every single day” Elbedour said.
During the week-long stay at Longwood for Girls State, students dorm with other girls their age.The Girls State program doesn’t only offer a chance to learn about our government, but it also provides a chance to meet new people and create lifelong friendships.
“I was very scared about dorming, but it was the best experience of my entire life. My roommate Fionam is still my best friend today” Elbedour said.
During their packed schedule, students learned the process of running a government.These learnings focussed on state and city governments through different activities, such as mock trials and fake court cases.
“I learned a lot about state governments and friendship, and I learned a lot about the process of electing people into office,” Elbedour said.
In Ava’s opinion she shared,“My favorite part of Girls State was just learning because we would be in assemblies three hours a day, and we would just learn the ins and outs [of state government]. We’d have guest speakers and learn everything about state government.” Saunders said.
Despite many good aspects, both Saunders and Elbedour agreed that their least favorite part of Girl’s state was the dining hall food- which wasn’t very good and had limited options.
“The long days were very tiring. I was up at 6:30 in the morning doing things [and] going to sleep at 12:30 at night,” Saunders said.“It was just a really long day, and I think you’re not given the proper food to do that.”
Despite the long days with a packed schedule, the connection built with other girls in the program and the lively assemblies filled with dance parties made the long nights staying up worth it.
“I found it pretty easy to connect with other girls in the program, despite the initial barrier of people being different from you. I think if you join different programs, such as Moot court, it’s easier to connect with other girls in your city.” Saunders said.
Each girl at Girls state is assigned to a city state, with each floor at Longwood being a different state. The people in your city-state are your roommates and the people you become the closest with over the week.
Beside the students at Longwood, the staff at Girls state made up the program and were in charge of directing students where to go and ensuring the daily schedule went smoothly.
“The staff was really nice, and for moot court, they have real lawyers that come in, so it was cool to talk to people within that profession” Saunders said.
In all, Virginia Girls State offers a transformative week-long experience, blending learning about government, leadership development, and lifelong connections for high school students in an empowering environment.
