Sedro-Woolley High School senior Katie Kins returned this summer from the 2025 session of Washington Girls State with a $1,000 scholarship and a wealth of civic leadership experience—becoming the first young woman from Sedro-Woolley to attend the program in many years, if not ever.
Hosted by the American Legion Auxiliary, Washington Girls State is a weeklong civics camp where rising senior girls from across the state take part in hands-on government simulations, campaigning for office, running mock trials and participating in legislative sessions.
Kins was selected as the recipient of the American Legion Auxiliary’s Outstanding Citizen Scholarship—an honor awarded to one attendee among 82 statewide participants. The award recognizes exemplary leadership, civic engagement and overall contribution during the program.
“I went from arriving as a nervous delegate who didn’t believe in my own abilities to the endorsed Federalist Party Governor candidate,” Kins wrote in a message to district staff. “It was the most incredible experience.”
Throughout the week, Kins earned endorsements and delivered campaign speeches. Though she ultimately came in second in the race for Girls State Governor, her accomplishments didn’t stop there. She was elected head of the Department of Health, led the Senate Rules Committee, and served as a witness in both civil and criminal trials—experiencing all three branches of government firsthand.
The experience, she said, was eye-opening.
“I competed against women who are national-level speech champions, JROTC leaders, Ivy League-bound scholars, and Constitutional Oratorical winners—opportunities that don’t even exist in our area,” Kins said. “To be recognized among them gave me a confidence I didn’t know I had.”
Kins credited her involvement to a single email from a school staff member that nearly went unnoticed in her spam folder. Sponsored by American Legion Auxiliary Unit 91 in Burlington, she was the sole representative from Sedro-Woolley.
“This experience was life-changing,” she said. “It showed me that the world is so much bigger than I ever realized in Sedro[-Woolley]. I want more girls here to know this program exists.”
Kins hopes to spread the word about the opportunity to other Sedro-Woolley students, especially those involved in Teen Court, AP government, or considering careers in law, politics or military service.
She now plans to pursue a degree in Law and Diversity at Western Washington University with the goal of becoming a civil prosecutor.
“I want to be the reason other young women from Sedro-Woolley know this program is possible for them too,” Kins said.
Girls State is open to current high school juniors and typically takes place the last week of June each year. For more information, visit https://www.evergreengirlsstate.com/.