Desire Nugyen – Palo Verde City
I, along with over 60 other bright-eyed girls, excitedly watched the time climb towards 2PM as we waited for the 74th Annual Arizona Girls State to officially commence through Zoom, an application we are all undoubtedly familiar with this year.
As soon as the clock clicked to 2 PM, we were greeted with an explosion of enthusiasm and energy from the amazing organizers who helped make this virtual Girls State come to life, such as our technology director Mr. Hauff. This year’s Arizona Girl State Governor, Ms. Steenhard, congratulated and welcomed us delegates to our first Girls State meeting and many more to come later on this week. Not only did she exude confidence in our abilities to succeed in this program, but she also helped to calm our nerves with a simple, yet impactful message: “Be You”, which inspired many of us.
Prominent Arizona politicians, such as Governor Doug Ducy, Senator Kristen Simena, Senator Mark Kelly, and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, further embraced us with outstanding speeches celebrating the history of this program.
After this warm welcome, we were sorted into our city breakout session where I met the other citizens of Palo Verde. Although it may seem hard at first to bond over Zoom, we hit it off right at the bat as we began brainstorming about our city’s history. By the end of the meeting, we had bounced off the idea of Palo Vertis, our city’s originator, founding Palo Verde as the first female-only town during the mining boom of the 1800s. Although our city has expanded to include all genders now, the values of independence and determination still resonate in our city’s ideals.
Before I knew it, the session was over. This was a fantastic start foretelling an exciting week of treasured memories!