Emily at Girls' State

Emily went to Girls State, which is sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary. The event was held at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah, and there the girls lived in dorms and learned from sunup to sundown. It is a week where the girls set up a mock government at the city, county, and state levels and elect officials, write party platforms, hold congress, and basically experience firsthand how the political process works.

Emily ran for governor, but was not elected to that position, but she was a county and state delegate and a member of the platform committee for her party. She also was the main songwriter for their city song. The girls are required to dress in modest dresses the entire week, which I thought was refreshing. The ALA also promotes patriotism and respect for the flag and our service men and women. Part of the week was a flag retirement ceremony where they actually burned flags that had become too worn to display.

Emily's favorite part of Girls State was the missionary experiences that she had (she even gave away a Book of Mormon), the incredible amount that she learned, the singing of the armed forces songs, and the confidence that she developed. It was a great experience for Emily! These are the delegates from Levan, left to right,

Malea Kenison, Angela Hone, and Emily Goates. The different colored shirts are because the girls were put in different cities. ALA doesn't put people who know each other together, so that creates an interesting situation with more equal footing when the girls are running for office and holding elections.

This is Emily in her dorm room with her two roommates

Emily got to carry the Utah flag in the graduation ceremony

This is Emily with her counselor Angie Jensen, or "Mama A.J."