The life of the sixth floor

By: Taylor Finke

The first hour of Girls State on floor eight in the city of Garfield was a silent one for everyone. However, that did not last long. The nerves of meeting new people quickly diminished when a game of Bananagrams broke out during their free time together. It seemed that every citizen on the floor got to know each other in a short amount of time. However, the mix up between Abby’s, Abigail’s, Taylor’s, Montana’s, and especially the three Emma’s took time to distinguish the difference between. Then, the debate among the floor cheer was discussed with everyone. High School Musical seemed to be a popular topic discussed at all times, and the floor eight cheer was born. Katie Kjendal led the cheer the majority of the time, with her loud voice and love for High School Musical. “What floor? Garfield!” When campaigns took off, floor friends helped one another run for office making campaigns less stressful and more fun. Floor eight seemed to compete well throughout all the campaigns, having a delegate secure an office on every ballot. The bond between all of the citizens on floor eight created friendships that will last a lifetime.

The city of Garfield’s sassy senior counselor was Debra Albers. Deb is from Davenport, has helped with Girls State for many years and has been a counselor for the past two years. She also was the Girls State Education Director for Girls State 24 years ago for two years. She is the Vice President for the ALA’s Nebraska Department and will be elected to the President position in June. Deb was asked to be a counselor to give her a different perspective of Girls State before assuming her position as president. Deb’s favorite memory from Girls State over the years was Cantor Leo Felman, a survivor of Auschwitz, who made a lasting impact on her life. When asked to describe her floor this year in one word, Deb described them as a wonderful and fun group of girls.

The fabulous middle counselor for the city of Garfield was Haley King. Haley is from Shelby, attended Girls State in 2012 and has been a counselor for the past three years. She wanted to become a counselor for Girls State because of the counselors that made her year an exciting time and wanted to ensure that future Girls Staters would have an equally great experience. Haley’s favorite memory was speaker Dr. Jo Owens-Nauslar, an energetic, entertaining speaker who spoke on importance of a positive outlook on life. When asked to describe floor eight in one word, Haley described them as being charismatic.

The bubbly junior counselor for floor eight was Skylar Peterson. Skylar is from Lincoln, participated in Girls State in 2013 and has been a counselor for the past two years. Skylar wanted to become a counselor after a friend described her amazing experience as a Girls State counselor. She then decided to give it a try for one year, but then loved her experience; therefore, she came back. Skylar’s favorite memory was meeting the governor and also meeting one of her best friends from Boys State. She explained that Girls and Boys State is not only a great experience, but an experience that can create lifelong friendships. When asked to described the city of Garfield in one word, Skylar described the floor as “lit.”