Divya Natarajan, Mayor of Cholla City. (Submitted)
by Divya Natarajan and Mya Villalba
Cholla City Reporters
Recently, I was elected the Mayor of Cholla City and I am very excited to start my term! So far, I have been able to engage in the voting and election process in many ways.
First off, I was able to speak at the primary and general election to secure my seat for Mayor. During my speech, I tried to focus on issues that I felt were of the utmost importance to me and the other girls in the city.
After being elected, I got to run my first meeting and an orientation later that day. During my first meeting, I was able to create two committees for zoning and budgeting. Later, I learned the importance of communication and organization as I appointed people to city roles and responsibilities for the city binder.
While this week goes on, I will continue to provide a diligent effort to be as organized and effective as possible. I am very excited to see what this week has in store!
Q&A with the Mayor:
ComingintoGirlsstate,didyouexpecttogetmayor?Ifso,whatmadeyousoconfidentyou were going to secure that position?
Coming into Girls State, I knew I wanted to have a leadership role. I decided to read the handbook and look through the duties and that was when I landed on the role of Mayor. I enjoyed the duties and the involvement that I would have with my city. I got the opportunity to speak with a lot of girls in our city, so knowing what they wanted made me more confident in being their leader.
Why are you choosing to get super involved while being here? Given that most people are just here because it looks good on college applications.
I am choosing to get involved here because this is a great opportunity and I want to learn more about the procedures of our government at both a state and city level. I think that the local government provides an important foundation that is often overlooked, and as Mayor I am excited to explore that.
Additionally, I hope to run for Girls Nation and represent issues that are near and dear to myself- such has financial literacy!
Do you plan on using the skills that you’ve learned and gained from this experience in your future occupation?
I really want to get involved in law in the future, so I plan to also be in Speech and Debate and do Congressional Debate, which is essentially where we simulate the Senate floor and debate legislation. I really love this form of debate and I hope to apply these skills more as the week goes on.