GPS students at Girls State
GPS rising senior Katie Brandao was selected at the Volunteer Girls State’s closing ceremonies to be one of two Girls Nation senators.
There were 573 delegates to Girls State, and of the eight nominees for Girls Nation, three were members of the GPS Class of 2017. Anna Shaw and Iman Ali, who were also nominees, were earlier announced as best citizens in their cities by a vote of their peers. Earlier in the week, Iman was elected a county commissioner, Anna ran for governor as an independent, and McKaylyn Fults was elected mayor of Overton City. Just as the Republican and Democratic parties have delegates, GPS student Delaney Swan was a delegate for the Federalist Party and Anna was a delegate for the Nationalist Party.
Katie, who was speaker of the house for the Girls State government that mirrored the Tennessee legislature, follows in the footsteps of Caroline West ’16, who was selected to be a Girls Nation senator in 2015.
The non-partisan leadership and citizenship training program sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary has been a proving ground for GPS students and their leadership. Katie continues a streak in which for six of the past seven years, a GPS student has been chosen for a top Girls State honor.
Here is the GPS history at Girls State:
Nisha Boyington ’11, Girls Nation senator in 2010
Sarah Shaw ’12, Girls State governor in 2011
Emma McCallie ’13, Girls Nation senator in 2012
Emily You ’14, Girls State governor in 2013
Caroline West ’16, Girls Nation senator in 2015
All of the previous office holders listed above, in addition to several other GPS alumnae, returned to Girls State this year as junior or senior counselors.