'A defining moment’

Even though senior Claire Kankirawatana spent a week representing Vestavia Hills High School as a calm and composed campaigner — she was running for lieutenant governor during the prestigious Girls State mock government camp — she couldn’t help but jump out of her chair, shocked and excited, when she heard the big announcement. 

Not only was Kankirawatana one of three girls chosen for Girls State, she was also one of the two chosen to represent the state of Alabama on the national level at Girls Nation. 

“I was really, really shocked, and so was my family, to think that the girls thought that I was capable of going to a national level, and the directors believed in me. That was really a defining moment,” she said. 

Each year, the American Legion Auxiliary sponsors students to attend Girls State, a “government-in-action” learning program that encourages young women to become more knowledgeable in democracy and freedom, government processes and the basic principles of American government. 

Two of those girls then go to Girls Nation for another weeklong camp.

Kankirawatana said both weeks were “life-changing experiences” and helped increase her passion for law and government. 

She and her parents are immigrants from Thailand, which she said was what originally sparked some interest in social justice and government, along with classes and clubs at school.

Since she was a sophomore at VHHS, she has participated in Alabama Youth in Government, a school-run program that travels to conferences that deal with the legislative and judiciary systems and competed in competitions each year. 

The knowledge she learned from the club proved to be a major benefit for her during her time at the summer camps. 

Her mother, Suthida Kankirawatana, said she was proud and excited Claire was chosen for both Girls State and Girls Nation, and that Claire has been active in mock trials, leadership roles and government-related activities since middle school .

“It was very, very wonderful for her because she got a chance to see other kids that have the same interests... and it has opened her mind in participating in state and national level,” she said.

Kankirawatana had to write an essay and submit a resume to get into Girls State, and she was one of the three women chosen in her school to attend the summer program. 

The weeklong event, which each year accepts approximately 400 women from all over the state, splits everyone up into made-up communities who then practice running their own cities and voting in various elections in the state and county level.

Kankirawatana, who was in the “Yellowhammer” community, said they were basically a big family. It was eye-opening to her to meet women from all over the state with different backgrounds and various levels of education surrounding government and law, she said.

When Kankirawatana first got there, she decided to run for one of the higher-level governing positions, lieutenant governor. It required intensive campaigning, speeches and question and answer sessions. 

Although she didn’t win in the run-off, she said the effort she showed opened up a new door for her instead: the opportunity to go to Girls Nation in Washington, D.C.

She was excited, she said, because this time instead of debating state issues, they would be debating legislative bills, which included subjects such as environmental issues and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). 

They also discussed at the conference, she said, how there is a lack of women in government jobs, especially high-level government, which is something they want to see changed.

“The entire conference is comprised of highly intelligent and empowering young women,” Kankirawatana said. “…. It was incredibly inspiring to hear strong, empowering speeches and for them to get involved and hear their strong voices on issues that matter to them.”

Additionally, she found out the legislative bill she wrote at Girls State had been passed on to the House and Senate and then signed into “law” in the program. The bill, she said, was on terminating the custody and visitation rights of rapists over their biological children. 

Outside the program, Alabama is one of seven states that doesn’t have the law in place, so she said she wanted to bring awareness to that fact because she doesn’t think it’s morally right. 

“Current events, especially what is happening right now, is so important to our lives. Not knowing about it is impossible right now, so learning about how our government system works and how processes happen to reach a solution is something I maybe hope to do when I’m older, something I want to change in my state and maybe on a national level,” Kankirawatana said.

Also during Girls Nation, she got to meet U.S. Senators Doug Jones and Richard Shelby, as well as Vice President Mike Pence. 

During her final year at VHHS, Kankirawatana will be applying for college and continuing to participate in Youth in Government. 

To learn about Girls State and Girls Nation — or how to apply — visit alaforveterans.org/ALA-Girls-State.