Lingle Ft. Laramie High School eleventh-grader Emma Walker, 17, is eager to put her community leadership skills to work this summer at the 80th session of American Legion Auxiliary Wyoming Girls State event
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LINGLE – Lingle Ft. Laramie High School eleventh-grader Emma Walker, 17, is eager to put her community leadership skills to work this summer at the 80th session of American Legion Auxiliary Wyoming Girls State event – and she is looking forward to learning new leadership skills. Meanwhile, former Girls State Delegate and soon-to-be college freshman, Jordan Stoddard, 18, is the recipient of an American Legion Scholarship.
“I grew up on a ranch which already comes with a lot of responsibilities, you learn pretty early,” Walker said. “But, I’ve also learned a lot of great leadership skills through my community service work at my school, my church and within my community.”
Walker said small things like “making sure all the animals are fed properly and on-time on the ranch when we are small children teaches us independence, responsibility and strong leadership skills we can later apply in life.”
“Your level of commitment directly affects whether or not a baby chick survives to maturity or not,” Walker added. “Which in a lot of ways is how civic life as an adult works, you’ve got to nurture your involvement and community dedication in order to benefit from it.”
The purpose of the American Legion Auxiliary Department of Wyoming Girls State is to equip girls entering their senior-year of high school with citizenship training in an immersive opportunity to learn how the government works. Young ladies from around the state will live together in a self-governing community learning about the duties, responsibilities, privileges and rights for every American citizen so that they can understand and later participate in civic engagement either from a citizen stance and/or an elected office stance.
The event will take place at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne from June 5 through 11.
In a press release, LaGrange Town Clerk Cathy Stoddard wrote, “Emma will have hands-on leadership experiences in government and Americanism as she participates in a simulation of the political process.”