Adelaida Moreno (from left), Northwood High School; Isabelle Chappuies, Eastwood High School; Livia Segal, Eastwood High School; and Sara Xaiyarath, Northwood High School, attended Buckeye Girls State at Bowling Green State University this week.
The girls come from different walks of life, parts of the state and schools.
But by the end of Buckeye Girls State, they’ve found a lot of the same interests and goals.
Four Wood County high school juniors talked about their experience at Girls State, which returned to the Bowling Green State University campus this week after a 26-year absence.
Adelaida Moreno and Sara Xaiyarath, who attend Northwood High School, would have never applied for Girls State if their history teacher hadn’t recommended it.
“I just thought it would be so cool to meet other girls from all over Ohio. It’s nice to branch out,” Xaiyarath said, adding that she is shy.
“I’m loud and out there,” said Moreno, who ran for governor. “That did not work out in my favor, but I’m honestly glad, because at the end of the day, just because I’m not the head position is not the end all, be all.”
Two Eastwood girls knew about the experience and were looking forward to it.
“It was a good opportunity to know how government works,” said Livia Segal.
Isabelle Chappuies said she had an idea about what the week would be like.
“My mom went and my brother went, and they both loved it. I was really excited to get the opportunity,” she said.
Buckeye Girls State teaches about government in a bi-partisan manner. When the girls arrived on Sunday, they were divided into two parties, the Federalists and Nationalists.
The girls can run for offices, such as governor, Supreme Court justice and city council member. They put out a newspaper and attend workshops on leadership and government.
“It’s a lot of caucuses, primaries and campaigning,” said Segal, who is a mayor for the week for the fictional city of Hobart.
There are 13 cities and three counties at this Girls State.
“It’s a lot of socializing,” Moreno said. “The best part is the people.”
Chappuies said she will probably not be a politician in the future.
“But I think this is still a great experience, and there’s a lot of things that can be taken away from it that will be able to be used down the road in life,” she said.
The girls are rooming in Offenhauer Tower for the week, also with new people.
Linda Close, Girls State director, said there are 546 girls participating at BGSU. They are visited throughout the week by state representatives and mayors. Gov. Mike DeWine took questions from the girls for over 30 minutes on Wednesday.
“Everyday is different,” Close said. “They go to caucuses and rallies. They design their own platform for their party.”
Buckeye Girls State is considered one of the premiere Girls State opportunities, which are available in every state, Close said.
At the end of week, two girls will be selected to attend Girls Nation in Washington, D.C.
Close was at Buckeye Girls State as a counselor when it was last at BGSU. She was looking forward to coming back and thought she’d recognize the campus.
Things have changed so much, though, that she got lost this week near Olscamp Hall and Oak Grove Cemetery.
“It’s much, much bigger now,” Close said.
