NEW BREMEN — Six seniors-to-be from New Bremen High School will be among the nearly 900 girls participating in the 73rd annual session of Buckeye Girls State at the University of Mount Union in Alliance. The session begins Sunday, June 16, 2019, and concludes on Saturday, June 22, 2019.

Local delegates to Girls State, sponsored by New Bremen American Legion Auxiliary Unit 241, are Taylor Paul, Jessica Fledderjohann, Hannah Kramer, Allison Wilker, Calla Ferguson, and Lauren Schrolucke.

Assisting at Buckeye Girls State will be Auxiliary Unit 241 member Shirley Maurer, who has served in the capacity of city counselor within the program for six years, and who will assist in the government office again this year as the government secretary.

Buckeye Girls State is a fast-paced program of mock government at the state, county and city levels. The main objective of the program is to train young women, who have completed their junior year in senior high school, in the duties, rights and privileges of citizenship by providing the attendee the opportunity to actively participate in a democratic form of government.

As the girls arrive at Girls State, they are assigned to one of two political parties. The residence hall in which they live during the program is their designated county and the floor on which they live is their city.

The students will file petitions for candidacy for a variety of offices from governor to city council and participate in the election process. After elections and inaugurations, they will put government in action.

The goal of Buckeye Girls State is to provide participants with a better knowledge of government, all while building friendships for a lifetime.