News : VS students prepare to attend Legion Auxiliary's Girls State

Raela Uthoff with Vinton Girls State representative Hailie Engler, Hanna Roster and Caitlyn Martin.

Three of the four Vinton-Shellsburg High School students who have been selected for Girls State met with Vinton American Legion Post 57 Auxiliary President Raela Uthoff on Tuesday.

Hailie Engler, Hanna Roster and Caitlyn Martin will represent Vinton, and are sponsored by Post 57. A fourth student, Brittany Grendler, is from Shellsburg and is sponsored by the Shellsburg Post 166 Auxiliary.

Girls State, according to the Iowa Legiona Auxiliary Web site, is a a fictional self-governing state of young ladies who elect their own leaders, write bills for debate and run a legislative session. In the process, these leaders—class presidents, top varsity athletes, debate champions–dynamically engage with state representatives and senators.

Two participants from each of 49 states are selected to attend the elite American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation in Washington DC, where they have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the President of the United States.

Girls State is where the seeds of patriotism are cultivated in our nation’s finest high-school girls, by women who care deeply about the future of America and take its leadership seriously. It is where future leaders realize their true potential.

“Girls State impacted my life and gave me newfound confidence to help my community and society,” said one former Girls State citizen. “It influenced my career choices and my educational choices. The experience changed me dramatically.”

The four V-S students signed up for consideration for the program after listening to a presentation by Lauren Tandy, a VS senior who participated in the event last summer.