Floor seven counselor profiles

Story By: Melissa Hinrichs

Michelle Malone

Michelle Malone is the Senior Counselor for floor seven and has been helping with Girls State for nine years. She has spent seven of those years as a counselor. Malone is from Palmyra and is now living in Omaha. In 2004 she was a citizen at Cornhusker Girls State and was a candidate for County Sheriff, but was not elected to the position.

Malone loves coming to Girls State and working with the citizens. That and the leadership skills learned at Girls State are the reasons she says she chose to become a counselor. Malone identified her favorite part of attending Girls State as being the time she would spend staying up at night talking to the friends she had made.

Malone’s favorite color is most definitely pink. She also enjoys watching football, but she no longer plays many sports. Malone believes that she would most enjoy the superpower of flight, because she likes to travel.

Helen King

Helen King is the Middle Counselor for floor seven and this is her second year as a counselor. King is originally from Shelby and now lives in Kearney. She attended Cornhusker Girls State in 2012 and was elected to City Mayor during her time as a citizen.

King says her reason for wanting to become a counselor here at Girls State is because of how much she enjoyed herself during her time as a citizen. She continued to explain that she wanted to give other citizens the same exciting experiences she had had at this event. King’s favorite part of Girls State as a citizen was one of the speakers she saw. This speaker was Dr. Jo, and King described her presentation as full of energy and motivation.

When King was asked about her favorite color her reply was a definitive, “Pink!” Her favorite activity is crafting and she can be seen wearing some of the things she makes. When asked what superhero would she like to be or what superpower would she want to have,  King’s answer was that she does not know any superheroes, but she would like the power of teleportation. She explained that if she could teleport, she would never have to worry about being late and would not have to run to be on time.

Nicole Shively

Nicole Shively is the Junior Counselor for floor seven and this is her first time being a Girls State counselor. Shively is from Lincoln and attended Cornhusker Girls State in 2013 when she ran for and was elected to a Senator position.

The experiences Shively had during her time at Girls State is one reason why she decided to be a counselor. She also said that Girls State is a great learning experience. Shively’s favorite part of her time as a Girls State citizen was getting to meet people from all over the state; she grew up in Lincoln and had not had the chance to meet many people from other places before.

Shively considers blue to be her favorite color. She is currently studying music, and her favorite activity is marching band. If Shively could have any superpower, she would choose to be able to fly, because she could go anywhere. She also explained that it “would just feel cool.”