Girls Nation makes Wellsburg teenager’s summer extra special
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WELLSBURG -- If Brooke High School senior Ashley Eby were assigned to write about her summer break for school, it's very likely she would describe her visit to the nation's capitol, meeting President Trump and other government leaders and her discovery of a new potential career.
The daughter of Nikki and Dave Eby of Wellsburg, she was selected, with Katherine Leary of Wheeling, to represent West Virginia at Girls Nation, a weeklong program in Washington, D.C., aimed at introducing female teens from throughout the United States to the federal government.
Eby said part of that experience was meeting President Trump and West Virginia's federal legislators and seeing Congress in action.
"We saw the Senate and House of Representatives in session and a debate over health care. It was very interesting," she said.
Eby noted that not unlike the health care issue, there are mixed opinions about the president, including among the Girls Nation participants.
But she said most came away from the meeting with Trump in the White House's Rose Garden, feeling, like her, that "Politics aside, meeting the president is such an honor."
Eby said she may have been the first to be greeted by the president, who shook her hand and offered congratulations before moving on to the many other young women there.
Eby also met U.S. Sen. Shelby Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-Wheeling, in their offices and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin on the street.
She explained she and Leary had been slated to meet Manchin at his office also, but he canceled during the busy legislative session.
Later, when she and two Boys Nation participants encountered him on the street, he apologized and stopped to chat and pose for a photo.
Eby also experienced being part of the lawmaking process when the two-member teams from each U.S. state were challenged to sponsor their own bill in a mock legislative session.
She and Leary introduced a bill providing more federal money for renewable energy.
"We were both very interested in that, especially seeing how our state is so dependent on coal and other fossil fuels that will eventually run out," Eby said.
She said because of time constraints only 15 bills made it to the floor for a vote, "but ours was one of the few that made it through committee without an amendment."
It was not Eby's first visit to the capitol though the first had occurred just days before, while participating in the West Virginia Governor's Honors Academy, a program that offers male and female teens an opportunity to take part in college-level classes on subjects that interest them.
And in June Eby joined fellow Brooke students Sydney DeFranco and Allie Myers at Wheeling Jesuit University for West Virginia Rhododendron Girls State, a similar program in which participants assume the roles of various state officials.
The three were selected by Wellsburg American Legion Auxiliary Unit 34, and their participation was supported financially by Wellsburg Women of the Moose Chapter 1354, the Bethany Woman's Club, Traubert's Pharmacy and Dr. E. Robert Marks.
It was through Girls State that she was chosen for Girls Nation, she explained.
After being chosen as a Girl Nation candidate by her peers, Eby was selected by Girl State leaders who first considered her answer to a random question.
Asked about her community service, Eby had no problem describing her experience as a leader or member of her school's Key Club; Leo Club; Paws and Claws, a group that supports the Brooke County Animal Shelter; and its chapter of Health Occupation Students of America.
She also volunteered this summer at the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Conference.
Eby said she had set her sights on a career in chemistry. But she said after seeing the lawmaking process and taking part herself, she may consider a career in politics.
Whatever her decision, Eby said she won't forget her experiences at Girls Nation.
"It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience," she said.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)