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GPS Students and Alumnae Head to Girls State

Four rising seniors and a number of GPS alumnae will attend the 71st annual session of Volunteer Girls State starting Sunday, May 28, in Nashville. The non-partisan leadership and citizenship training program has recognized GPS leadership through the years, with many GPS girls elected to top Girls State honors.
A team of leaders from Girls Preparatory School is attending the 71st annual session of Volunteer Girls State starting Sunday, May 28, on the Lipscomb University campus in Nashville. Four rising seniors will be among the over 500 high school students at the weeklong leadership and citizenship training program.
 
Pierson Brown, Meg Marshall, Meher Memon, and Hannah Prescott were selected to follow in the shoes of many impressive GPS/Girls State attendees in the past, including several who have served as Tennessee Girls State Governors and four who have attended Girls Nation as Senators from Tennessee.

GPS alumnae who attended Girls State in the past will be volunteers and counselors at this year’s session: Katie Brandao, Emily You, Rachel Raisin, Allyce Buniak, Delaney Swann, Caroline West, Nisha Boyington, Emma McCallie, Laura Laughlin, Mary Chandler Gwin, and Kate Commander. GPS English teacher Amy Piper, a Girls State alumna, will also be volunteering.

Upper School Principal Jenise Gordon will be at Girls State for the 29th year as Citizenship Director. Former faculty member Suzanne Smartt will be celebrating her 52nd year as a member of the Production Team and assisting the citizenship facet of the program.

Gordon says of Girls State, “It’s a program where over 100 volunteers return each year to give back to the almost 600 juniors from across the state of Tennessee. We return because the program changed us for the better, and we are committed to providing that opportunity to others. I meet my best self at Girls State each year and come back revitalized and restored.”
The mission of Volunteer Girls State is to “empower Tennessee’s promising young women to become and remain civically engaged leaders through experiential learning and relevant, inspiring growth opportunities.

In 2016, Katie Brandao, who will attend UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall, was elected one of two Girls Nation Senators and spent a week last July in Washington, D.C. with senators from other states that sponsored Girls State programs.

The non-partisan leadership and citizenship training program sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary has been a proving ground for GPS students and their leadership. For six of the past seven years, a GPS student has been chosen for a top Girls State honor. Here is the GPS history at Girls State:
  • Nisha Boyington ’11, Girls Nation Senator in 2010
  • Sarah Shaw ’12, Girls State Governor in 2011
  • Emma McCallie ’13, Girls Nation Senator in 2012
  • Emily You ’14, Girls State Governor in 2013
  • Caroline West ’16, Girls Nation Senator in 2015
  • Katie Brandao ’17, Girls National Senator in 2016
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