South Dakota Girls State counselors receive five-year pins

By Samantha Simonsen

This year is a special one for three South Dakota Girls State staffers.

Deanna Johnson, Emily Niebrugge and Melissa Hessman are celebrating the not only the 70th anniversary of Girls State, but also five years working as counselors and office manager.

“I keep coming back because I get the opportunity to work with highly driven, high school aged individuals,” Johnson said.

As a police officer, Johsnon said she doesn’t get to see the devotion of students. Coming back to Girls State gives her the chance to see the better side of individuals.

The delegates of Washington brought a great joy to Johnson. Johnson felt the girls stuck together and were loyal to each and every person in their city.

Johnson loved the closeness of her city.

“This is the best year that I have attended,” she said.

The girls are the reason Hessman donates her time to Girls State. She wants to give the delegates the same experience she received when she attended.

Hessman spends her week working as an office manger at headquarters. She’s the woman who helps behind the scenes.

Those include online voting, scholarships, awards and making sure all counselors have the supplies they need.

Connections with the girls are still a main focus with Hessman. Being at registration, welcoming them and encouraging them are the small things Hessman does to get to know delegates better.

Headquarters deals with the petitions, so when girls drop them off, Hessman talks with them about their Girls State experiences.

Girls State enabled her to form a relationship with her boss, too.

“My boss was a Boy State delegate, so we instantly had that connection. He allows me to go to Pierre and to Girls State to help out,” Hessman said.

Her delegate year, Hessman’s city was Cleveland. Here she served as a House of Representative and a county delegate.

“I encourage girls to make the most of it and come back to Girls State,” Hessman said.

Niebrugge has worked for five years with Journalism City. She is now the Assistant Editor of the Butte County Post in Belle Fourche and was Editor-in-Chief of the University of South Dakota’s newspaper, The Volante.

Since her 2010 delegate year at Girls State, Niebrugge has taken part in Journalism City and has only taken one year off.

Journalism City is the main reason Niebrugge comes back to help each year. She loves assisting girls each year with their writing, photography, working on their skills and, this year, more social media.

A memory from her delegate year recently brought a smile to her face:

Niebrugge remembers sitting in an extra dorm room during free time laughing and joking with her friends. That year in 2010 bonded her group of delegates together, all with the passion for journalism.

The girls in Niebrugge’s first year as senior counselor made her experience worth it. This particular group gave her the passion for teaching younger girls and made the job enjoyable.

“I’m still friends with most of the girls,” Niebrugge said.

Being at Girls State her delegate year helped her out in the long run, too.

Chuck Baldwin, Volante adviser, sent her information for the Al Neuharth Excellence in Journalism Scholarship because of her involvement in Journalism City. She received this scholarship that included a book allowance and paid for all tuition and fees.

Coming to Girls State gave her an advantage and set her apart from other candidates, she said.

“Without this experience, I might have not been able to go to college,” Niebrugge said.

Being on the Volante and a counselor assisted her while she looked for jobs and internships.

Niebrugge also embraced the new changes that Journalism City had this year. These changes helped push the program forward and benefited all the delegates, she said.

Journalism City spent more time with journalists from different media outlets to help the girls produce a better paper.

“I believe in the program and its mission,” Niebrugge said. “I credit everywhere I am now to finding my niche at Girls State.”