If you walked past Edwards Hall today, you’d have caught platform votes, candidate speeches, and caucus floor time stacked back to back — citizens finding their voice, one mic moment at a time.

Chisholm County led this morning’s Flag Raising Ceremony, with Taps played and a reading of “In Flanders Fields.”

Speaker Series: Miranda Leo

In the General Session, citizens heard from Miranda Leo Klingensmith, an ALA Empire Girls State alumna and Senior Recruiter at Insero Talent Solutions in Rochester, where she specializes in executive talent acquisition and inclusive, data-driven hiring practices.

Miranda’s commitment to community runs deep. She serves on the boards of the Small Business Council of Rochester, the National Human Resources Association Rochester Affiliate, and Villa of Hope, and volunteers with Best Buddies of Western New York and St. Peter’s Soup Kitchen. Rochester Young Professionals recently recognized her with their Community Development Award for Leadership and Community Impact, and she joined WXXI’s Connections with Evan Dawson earlier this year to talk about redefining service for the next generation.

Miranda shared her own EGS story — walking in nervous that she didn’t know anyone and was the only citizen from her school, only to find that everyone felt the same way, and that the friendships and confidence she built that week stuck with her long after. From there, she traced a not-so-straight line from that one week to the career she has now, arguing that a single twenty-minute act of courage (like introducing yourself to a stranger) can set the course for everything that follows, and that showing up for your community and building real relationships is what actually opens doors.

“Leadership isn’t a title – it’s what you do, and it’s choosing to make your community a little better than you found it.”

Committees, Platforms, and Bills

Committee work continued through the morning and into a working lunch. Platform Committees raced to finalize their platforms, due by 1:30 PM ahead of tonight’s Party Caucus vote. Issue committees kept building out their two bills apiece, and Campaign Committees polished their skits ahead of tomorrow’s Rally.

Programs in the ALA

Right after committee work wrapped up, ALA Department of New York President Maureen Morgan took the floor to walk citizens through the many programs the American Legion Auxiliary runs beyond Empire Girls State.

Flag Lowering Ceremony

As the day wound down, Angelou County led the evening’s Flag Lowering Ceremony.

Evening General Session

Winners of this afternoon’s interviews were announced in the evening General Session: congratulations to our new Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the Assembly!

Party Caucuses: Nominee Elections & Platform Votes

Tonight’s Party Caucuses carried real weight. Each party heard from its ten county-endorsed nominees for each of the four state offices — Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller, and Attorney General — before voting down to a single nominee per office. By the end of the night, the Nationalists and Federalists each had their four candidates, bringing the field to eight citizens who’ll spend the next two days campaigning for state office. Parties also voted on their final platforms, with issue committees continuing their bill work into tomorrow.

Congratulations to our newly party-endorsed state office nominees:

Meet the Candidates

After caucus, citizens had the chance to do some whistle-stop campaigning of their own back in the dorms, meeting the eight candidates now running for state office before tomorrow’s Rally kicks off the real campaign trail.

📰 Girls State Gazette — Issue 3: Becoming Heard Our official daily newsletter covers everything happening inside ALA EGS — election results, legislative action, wellness tips, county news, and more.
👉 Check out the Gazette