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LA GRANGE – Lyons Township High School senior Melissa Fuentes got a rare in-depth look at the workings of the federal government as one of two high school students representing Illinois at the American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation from July 26 to 31 in Washington.
Two "senators" were chosen from each state to attend the event, where they held mock senate sessions, went sightseeing and met politicians, including President Barack Obama.
Fuentes, who lives in La Grange Park, said she has been interested in government throughout high school, whether with student government or as captain of the speech team.
"I think I learned a lot about how government works," she said of the trip. "There's so many minor details in the process that people don't know about."
Much like a politician, Fuentes had to work her way up from the local level and make her case in order to be voted to represent her state.
She first had to be selected for the American Legion Auxiliary Illini Girls State, a week-long conference for high school juniors to learn about local and state government.
Participants held mock elections for several leadership positions, including U.S. senator.
"I thought it would be such a great opportunity," Fuentes said. "To deprive myself by not running at all, it just didn't make sense."
She had to go through multiple levels of interviews before she was elected by the delegates at Girls State.
Besides answering questions about current events, she had to draft and present a bill.
Her bill was a proposal to expand the earned income tax credit by lowering the qualifying age to 18.
She said she chose the issue after seeing similar bills had been proposed and debated in Congress as an alternative to raising the minimum wage.
Once she made it to Washington, Fuentes had the option of running for a leadership position at the national level but chose not to.
"It was my first time in D.C., so I figured I'm just going to enjoy the ride and lay low," she said.
When they were not debating a variety of political issues, the girls got to visit national monuments and meet their U.S. senators.
The highlight of the trip may have been their chance to meet the president.
Fuentes said they were warned that Obama may not have time to visit with them, depending on his schedule.
However, after posing for a group shot, he took the time to meet each of the girls.
Fuentes said she was shocked and speechless.
"I just remember thinking that this is a moment so powerful, and most of the people I know will never get to experience anything like this and I get to right now," she said.
Fuentes said she plans to study political science and law in college, with the goal of working in the law field before going into politics.
Her experience with Girls Nation showed her there are many ways to get involved in the government.
"I got to learn about a lot of jobs out there," she said. "It was cool to see what goes on behind the scenes in Washington."
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More about Melissa Fuentes
TOWN: La Grange Park
EDUCATION: Senior at Lyons Township High School
ACTIVITIES: Speech team, badminton and class board
CAREER GOALS: Becoming a lawyer and working in government