Post 555 Auxiliary sponsors three students for Girls State

Post 555 Auxiliary sponsors three students for Girls State

MIDWAY CITY, Calif., May 31, 2016 – Three local high school students have been selected as delegates to the American Legion Auxiliary’s annual Girls State leadership program.
Tammy Van of Bolsa Grande High, Ashley Lindsay of Garden Grove High and Kathy Le of Santiago High will join more than 500 fellow juniors from throughout California for a week-long camp at Claremont McKenna College June 27-July 2.
To be selected for the honor, the young women must be high school juniors who demonstrate academic excellence and be recommended by their teachers and counselors. In the case of Tammy Van and Kathy Le, both aspire to become a surgeon and pediatrician respectively. Ashley Lindsay wants to enter politics and “become the mayor of Garden Grove.”
According to Kay Hamby, president of Albert E. Schwab American Legion Auxiliary Unit 555, Girls State “is designed to increase awareness and knowledge of governmental processes while learning about the duties, privileges, rights and responsibilities of citizenship. The delegates also gain a greater appreciation of the American flag and of the sacrifices made by our veterans.”
During the Girls State event, two girls will be selected to attend Girls Nation in Washington, D.C., where they will be part of a national government training program in which they will hold mock political campaigns, learn how legislation is passed, and meet key members of Congress and possibly the president at the White House.
The American Legion Auxiliary sponsors the room and board of Post 555’s delegates to Girls State, and this year was helped by a donation from Garden Grove Elks Lodge #1952 and a fundraising campaign that included an artistic painting session in Garden Grove’s Old Town.
During a recent ceremony at Post 555 at 14582 Beach Blvd. in Midway City, Larry Hudson, the Elks Lodge social, community and welfare chairman, presented a sponsorship check to Hamby, who is the auxiliary’s unit chairperson. Also there to offer their support were Angie Balius, a Garden Grove Unified School District specialist and Girls State counselor, and Christopher Phan, Garden Grove city councilman. Phan, who is an officer in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, also serves as Orange County Deputy District Attorney and a university law professor.
Students who will be juniors in 2017 can learn more about the program at www.girlsstate.org or from their high school counselors. Post 555 can be contacted by phone at (714) 893-9525 or email at americanlegionpost555@gmail.com.