4 Copiah County students attend Girls State at Ole Miss
Published 8:00 am Friday, July 11, 2025
Four young women from Copiah County attended Girls State recently June 8-13 on the campus of Ole Miss.
Caroline Strong of Copiah Academy; Maria Hall of Wesson; Kate Norwood of Wesson and current Founder’s Day Queen; and Mary Margaret Woods of Wesson were the four area students selected to attend.
Established in 1936, Girls State provides female students, having just completed their junior year in high school, with an intensive week studying responsible citizenship, government, and leadership.
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These students were sponsored by the American Legion Drane Prine Post Unit 79 of Wesson. Each girl was chosen to attend based on character, grades and community service.
“I applied because I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn about leadership and because I had heard all of the good things about girls state through my sister who attended,” said Kate Norwood. “My favorite part was definitely meeting new likeminded girls who were the most genuine and kind people!”
Describing Girls State in a sentence, Kate Norwood said, “an incredible opportunity to learn so much about leadership and facing challenges, while also meeting new people who will become life long friends!”
Returning to camp as junior counselors were Mara Norwood, Cailley Duplantis and Taylor Papizan — all of Wesson. Mara was the only of the three to return for a second year of service. Duplantis served on social media team.
“I decided to go back and serve because of the people involved, hanging out with our veterans, and learning about the history, and developing my leadership skills,” Mara said.