Olivia Curry is going to Hoosier Girls' State
June 17, 2021 at 8:51 p.m.
Olivia Curry is going to Hoosier Girls' State
By Cyrus Johnson -
Miss Curry will represent district 10 in this years citizenship and leadership course which expects approximately 200 students from across all 50 states. The high school juniors will learn the inner workings of state and local government while actively participating in parliamentary practices organized by the committee.
Despite COVID-19 forcing everything online, committee member Jane Thurston assured, “The course will be an excellent preparation for everyone involved.” Thurston has been a committee member of Hoosier Girls’ State for 29 years. “Attendance is normally around 400, most states are done around 50%… I feel really good about Indiana’s numbers, there are more states behind us.”
Curry is a second generation Hoosier Girls’ State and her great grandmother, Elizabeth “Betty” Johnson, was an active patron of the program the many years of her membership with the Auxiliary.
Olivia told me she is waiting to get the feel for it, “but I’m glad to step into something new."
Before the course, students are evenly placed by committee members into two neutral parties. Each party starts with a clean slate, and will carry the names the nationalists and the federalists – giving a nod to the classic historical governmental parties. After the course starts, girls will represent 12-15 cities and develop their own governments for those cities. Not just developing ideas, they will hold primary and general elections in order to appropriate their governmental bodies into working order.
The girls will form their political ideals through discussions about current events with Indiana’s economy, education, health and other relevant platforms. After they finish their city simulation, next they move up to county level and then the state level. Each time the experience and responsibilities increase, while the girls strive to better their city/county/state and become the best it can be. At the end of the course, two lucky girls will be chosen to go to Girls Nation which takes place in Washington D.C. From there, the process is repeated on a federal level.
Girls will select positions as high as president, and every active member will participate as a Senator.
“The experience is very empowering to the girls, it shows them how they can get involved, too,” said Thurston.
She went to add how great this course looks on a college resume.
This year’s Hoosier Girls’ State is already set, but if you’re interested in having your daughter enroll in next year’s program, local legion members said Robin Durham, UCHS counselor, handles the application paperwork and to contact her through the school for all the necessary information.
Typically, an info sheet is given out to students by the Auxiliary well in advance to promote kids to apply. The American Legion also has a parallel program for boys. It is called Hoosier Boys State and runs the same way. Durham handles the paperwork for this application as well.
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Miss Curry will represent district 10 in this years citizenship and leadership course which expects approximately 200 students from across all 50 states. The high school juniors will learn the inner workings of state and local government while actively participating in parliamentary practices organized by the committee.
Despite COVID-19 forcing everything online, committee member Jane Thurston assured, “The course will be an excellent preparation for everyone involved.” Thurston has been a committee member of Hoosier Girls’ State for 29 years. “Attendance is normally around 400, most states are done around 50%… I feel really good about Indiana’s numbers, there are more states behind us.”
Curry is a second generation Hoosier Girls’ State and her great grandmother, Elizabeth “Betty” Johnson, was an active patron of the program the many years of her membership with the Auxiliary.
Olivia told me she is waiting to get the feel for it, “but I’m glad to step into something new."
Before the course, students are evenly placed by committee members into two neutral parties. Each party starts with a clean slate, and will carry the names the nationalists and the federalists – giving a nod to the classic historical governmental parties. After the course starts, girls will represent 12-15 cities and develop their own governments for those cities. Not just developing ideas, they will hold primary and general elections in order to appropriate their governmental bodies into working order.
The girls will form their political ideals through discussions about current events with Indiana’s economy, education, health and other relevant platforms. After they finish their city simulation, next they move up to county level and then the state level. Each time the experience and responsibilities increase, while the girls strive to better their city/county/state and become the best it can be. At the end of the course, two lucky girls will be chosen to go to Girls Nation which takes place in Washington D.C. From there, the process is repeated on a federal level.
Girls will select positions as high as president, and every active member will participate as a Senator.
“The experience is very empowering to the girls, it shows them how they can get involved, too,” said Thurston.
She went to add how great this course looks on a college resume.
This year’s Hoosier Girls’ State is already set, but if you’re interested in having your daughter enroll in next year’s program, local legion members said Robin Durham, UCHS counselor, handles the application paperwork and to contact her through the school for all the necessary information.
Typically, an info sheet is given out to students by the Auxiliary well in advance to promote kids to apply. The American Legion also has a parallel program for boys. It is called Hoosier Boys State and runs the same way. Durham handles the paperwork for this application as well.
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