Over 400 rising high school seniors gathered at the University of Alabama for the 83rd session of the American Legion Auxiliary Alabama Girls State program.

Throughout the week of June 1-6, delegates gained hands-on experience in a model state government. Participants wrote bills, debated them on the House and Senate floor, participated in party caucuses and ran for office. They also heard from a variety of speakers including Gov. Kay Ivey, a former Girls State lieutenant governor, and U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, who was elected Girls State governor in 1999.

The session was scheduled to culminate with a trip to Montgomery to visit with elected officials, hold lawmaking sessions at the State House and tour the Capitol, the Alabama Supreme Court and Governor’s Mansion.

Organizers say the Girls State program provides delegates with a better understanding of how government works and a sense of patriotism while building self-confidence and lasting friendships.

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“Alabama Girls State is a fun-filled, hands-on learning opportunity in good citizenship training for some of the best and brightest young women in the State of Alabama. Sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, Alabama Girls State is a premier youth leadership program which offers a one-of-a-kind experience to its delegates,” said Lee Sellers, program director, in news release.

This year featured the largest delegation of girls to have ever attended Alabama Girls State, with the more than 400 rising seniors representing high schools throughout Alabama.

UA also hosted the Boys State program May 25-31. This year marks the first time UA has hosted Boys and Girls State since 2021.

Ivey spoke to delegates June 5 at Moody Music Building on the University of Alabama campus.

During her remarks, Ivey shared her personal experiences at Girls State and how the program has influenced her political career.

“My time here at Girls State has allowed me to mentor and to be mentored by women across every corner of the state of Alabama, forming friendships that are not just good and strong, but long-lasting,” Ivey said.

After graduating from Auburn University in 1967, worked as a high school teacher and a bank officer. She served as reading clerk for the Alabama House of Representatives under then-Speaker Joseph C. McCorquodale and she served as assistant director at the Alabama Development Office

In 2002, Ivey was elected to the first of two terms as Alabama’s treasurer and in 2010, she was elected to the first of two terms as lieutenant governor. On April 10, 2017, Ivey was sworn in as Alabama’s 54th governor after the resignation of Robert Bentley. She filled out the rest of Bentley’s term before winning the gubernatorial election in 2018 and she was re-elected in 2022.

She is the first Republican woman to serve as Alabama’s governor but she’s the second woman to hold the state’s top executive office. Tuscaloosa County native Lurleen B. Wallace, a Democrat, became Alabama’s first female governor in 1966.

Ivey emphasized the importance of citizenship, the constitution and the military during her Girls State speech.

Ivey said she doesn’t let being a female in a male-dominated field discourage her and she encouraged delegates to pursue their goals.

Ivey said she believes that success should be measured by a person’s qualifications and not their gender.

“I strongly believe that whoever is the most-qualified person should be the one to get the job. And as I like to say, sometimes the best man for a job is a woman,” Ivey said.

Ivey concluded her speech by inspiring the delegates to carry the values of Girls State into their future endeavors.

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“Girls State is not just a week. It’s a state of mind, an attitude and a way of thinking that has stuck with me my entire life,” said Ivey, who grew up in the town of Camden in Wilcox County.

“…. (You should) leave Girls State this week with an understanding of the beauty of our democracy is that all people, even a girl, from a little town in Wilcox County can make a difference if we try,” she said.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.