By Cady Trausch
Manzanita City Reporter
Today Girls State heard from two very strong women in Arizona politics. First Girls State heard from Jennifer Zipps who is a federal judge who resides in Tucson, Arizona. She has been serving since 2011 after being appointed by former President Obama.
While telling her story she mentioned the many feats and challenges she faced on her way to the position she currently holds. Although she said she always wanted to be a lawyer, her first motivation to pursue her career was the unfair rule her school put in place that only allowed the boys to play kickball.
Our next speaker was Charlene Fernandez. Fernandez served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2015-2021, and was the Democratic leader of the Arizona House of representatives from 2019-2021.
During her time she mentioned the struggles of being a minority both by being a woman and latina. While talking about her youth she says she grew up and was raised by women, bringing up the blasphemy of women being discriminated against considering the sheer intelligence and compassion women hold.
Both of the speakers pushed and fought to hold a position of power in a male dominated industry and world. Never once did either speaker talk about their discrimination in a negative way, they rather focused on the growth and strength that was gained through the doubts that were constantly being whispered in their ears.
Hearing these speakers before the announcement of our new governor and secretary of state was very inspiring, reminding all the members of Girls’ State that the discrimination we face for being minorities should not stop us, but instead remind us of the glass ceiling we break every time we assert ourselves and make our voices heard.