Above: ALA Girls Nation Senators Grace Mendenhall (left) from Kansas and Juliann Harlan (right) from West Virginia place a poppy wreath at the Tomb of the Unknow Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, as Georgia Senator Paige Young (bottom left) and New Mexico Senator Sophia Kirkham (bottom right) support their fellow senators (photo by Kristin Merrill).


By Hannah Amos

The 2026 American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation week was a page in a whole book of history filled with uplifting moments and women empowerment. 

Beyond their legislative education, the senators had opportunities to learn more about the military and the history forming the United States.

Key moments ALA Girls Nation senators annually get to enjoy and look forward to are monument visits, Twilight Tattoo, and exploring Capitol Hill.  

Senators also explored and learned more American history and how citizens have shaped and built the nation — visiting monuments such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and many more.

Beyond strengthening their historical knowledge, ALA Girls Nation attendees had the opportunity to visit Capitol Hill and speak to their senators who represent them.

Though political beliefs may differ, delegates had the unique experience to learn and understand the governmental process from a primary source. 
 

New Mexico senator Danyella Navarrete said her Capitol Hill Day experience was the best day in the week. 

“It was really fun exploring and seeing all the different types of architecture and museums,” she said. “Coming from a pretty small town, I think it’s a totally different experience, but it’s really interesting to see the other side of the world and how everyone else is so unique and different.”

On the last day of the 2026 session, the senators visited Arlington National Cemetery and the Eisenhower Building.

At Arlington, the senators paid their respects to those laid to rest on the property, as well as the significance of the historic site. Four senators had the honor of laying a poppy wreath made by ALA Girls Nation attendees at the start of the session.
  For each of these four senators, the wreath laying was more than just an honor. To Grace Mendenhall from Kansas, it was deeply personal. 

“My dad served in the Iraq War, and he did 22 years of service,” Mendenhall said. “He just recently retired, and I don’t get the opportunity to connect with him too often. Usually, it’s just work and his job, and Iraq was such an essential part of his life. He missed my brother’s birth for it, and having this piece of connection, there are no words to describe the immense gratitude for that. Not a lot of the times we get opportunities to connect with our parents when they serve in the military and go through these horrible wars, and so, having that gateway, there are just no words to describe it.”

Though a page turned for the 2026 ALA Girls Nation senators, the book is still being written for their boundless futures.