Rising GPS senior Katie Brandao wasn’t expecting to be selected as one of Tennessee’s two representatives to the Girls Nation conference in Washington, D.C., over the summer. Her time at Girls State hadn’t gone as well as she’d hoped and she ended up losing several elections at the event.
Her counselors, though, noticed her interest in politics and citizenship.
Brandao is now a part of GPS’ history of excellence at Girls Nation. A GPS student has been one of the state’s two senators at the conference four times in the last six years.
The conference functions as a corollary to the United States government, and Brandao got a small taste of what working as a politician would be like. She served as a senator at the conference, debating with her peers on topics like the Syrian refugee crisis, sexual education and funding for public education.
“We also moved at the same unbearably slow pace of our actual Senate,” said Brandao.
She said her biggest accomplishment at the conference was co-sponsoring a bill with her fellow Tennessee senator, Megan Wassef from Memphis, that would have mandated paid parental leave for mothers and fathers provided they met certain qualifications. Writing and debating it, Brandao said, was a draining but worthwhile process, even if they never got the opportunity to vote on it in the week of the conference.
Despite the tediousness at times, Brandao said Girls Nation only furthered her desire to run for some sort of public office in the future. Working in the real United States or Tennessee Legislature would enable her to promote improving women’s access to health care, she said, an issue she debated heavily during her time at the conference. She already has her sights set on public policy in college and a law degree beyond that.
In addition to the work the young women had to do at the conference, they also got the opportunity to tour the city. Brandao said the Supreme Court and the countless decisions they’ve passed down over the years affected her the most.
“It was a total American history nerd moment,” she laughed.
More than anything, Brandao expressed gratitude toward the American Legion Auxiliary and GPS for enabling her to attend the conference.
“It’s fostered a contagious sense of patriotism, and taught me to appreciate the blessing of living in America,” she said.
Email Shane Foley at sfoley@timesfreepress.com.