A while back, 17-year-old Jaclyn Delligatti of Hicksville decided it would be a good idea to write a bill to enforce stricter laws for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). She felt this was necessary because it is something that needs to be dealt with and has hit her friends and family close to home. Over the summer, Jaclyn presented her bill to the New York State Senate and, the same day it was heard, the bill was voted on and passed.

Jaclyn was chosen from 400 girls to participate in Girls Nation, an American Legion Auxiliary-sponsored government training program that took place July 22-29 in Washington, D.C. According to the Girls Nation website, girls are considered senators "where they run for political office, campaign for the passage of legislation and possibly meet with state representatives and senators." They ended the week with a meeting with President George W. Bush at the White House.

Before having the opportunity to attend Girls Nations, Jaclyn first had to participate in Empire Girls State, the prerequisite program to Girls Nation designed to educate young, motivated girls about what it means to be an active citizen on both a state and national level. The girls must be a high school junior in order to apply for the program, which took place this year June 23-29 in Brockport, NY.

According to Louise Lagatta, president of American Legion Auxiliary 421 Unit in Hicksville, Empire Girls State "gives [the girls] an opportunity to know how the government is run. It's a learning experience of the justice system."

Jaclyn's ticket in was based on a one-page statement she wrote describing some political activities she participated in and why she thought she would be a good candidate for Empire Girls State. Part of her résumé include interning for New York State Assemblyman Rob Walker, participation in school political clubs and a fall 2006 internship for United States Congressman Peter King.

"I'm 17 and so interested in politics," she said. "When I was little everyone watched cartoons. Instead I watched the State of the Union Address. My life is surrounded by [politics]. I think I'd be an asset because I know a lot and want to learn more."

Choosing the girls to participate in Empire Girls State was difficult, said Lagatta. "It was a hard decision," she said. "All were very well presented. Jaclyn seemed to stand out. She really represented us well."

When Jaclyn arrived at Empire Girls State June 23 the 400 girls in attendance were split into two political parties. The parties were then further broken down into counties. From those counties, two girls were chosen to form different committees such as technology, criminal justice and education. Once the committees were formed, they were given different scenarios and with that, the girls had to write a bill for submission to the government.

The authors of the bill had to get in front of a mock senate session and assembly to debate and answer questions as well as take criticism on a bill they didn't really have the facts to support, Jaclyn said. Other opportunities at Empire Girls State were to run for elected state positions such as governor and lieutenant governor, which served as a way to get their name out and earn the respect from the other girls.

"A lot of the girls ran for the bigger positions," Jaclyn said, also mentioning that many of the participants were looking just to add to their résumés. "I truly wanted to be a part of this and not only to put it on my résumé."

Toward the end of the week, the citizens of Empire Girls State had to select two girls to represent New York at Girls Nation. Jaclyn ran for numerous positions, got her name out there and the purpose of her participation. She said many of the girls knew this is what she wanted to do. On the last day, the Empire Girls State faculty announced Jaclyn, along with Hannah Walter of Maspeth, to represent New York at Girls Nation.

"This is the biggest honor you can have," Jaclyn said. "You had to make a short one minute speech of why you should be the one [selected] and distinguish yourself by running for different positions to get your name out in order to get respected.

"Each girl [acted as a] senator ... and came with a bill to present," she said, adding she and Hannah worked on a bill that dealt with admission to public colleges and Affirmative Action.

Their bill "Equal Acceptance Act of 2007" mandated U.S. public colleges accept students based solely on academics and qualifications regardless of race, ethnicity, gender and religion. Due to timing, the bill was never debated, but while debating the bills that were heard, Jaclyn said she realized "the fine line between federal and state issues and who deals with what."

During her week in Washington DC, Jaclyn visited Capitol Hill where she met with the state senators. On the last day, participants of Girls Nation was paired with participants of Boys Nation, the American Legion Auxiliary's program for boys, to take pictures with President Bush in the White House. Jaclyn said the president asked all reporters and counselors to leave so the students could ask him questions.

"He told us we could ask about anything, so we talked about North Korea, because that was big at the time, and gay marriage," said Jaclyn. "It was awesome."

According to Jaclyn, the week in Washington D.C. changed her life not only from a political aspect but from a personal one as well. "I got to meet so many awesome girls who have the same interests as me and it's refreshing," said Jaclyn. "At the same time, they are different. I got to meet girls from conservative areas. I appreciate [now] the opposing viewpoints because I have been exposed to them."

Jaclyn, who began her senior year at Hicksville High School this week, said her goal is to make more high school juniors aware of the American Legion Auxiliary that sponsors youth programs and presents opportunities such as the one she experienced this past summer.

"The week I spent in DC changed my life. After returning home, I realized that not many young people are aware about the American Legion Auxiliary and the programs that they sponsor for America's youth and I want more teenagers in our local area to be aware of the great opportunities that are presented to them," said Jaclyn. "Being selected to attend both Girls State and Girls Nation has drastically changed my outlook not only on the political world, but on life in general, and I want to be able to share this with high school juniors around me who could potentially benefit from a program such as this one."

For more information on Girls Nation, visit www.girlsnation-auxiliary.com.