Keystone Girls State
COUNSELOR
At Keystone GIrls State, our staff are the core to our program. Without dedicated counselors who sacrifice their time to make this program work, none of this could be possible. In order to make KGS a success, three counselors are assigned to each city; a Mentor, a Senior Counselor, and a Junior Counselor. The positions are described below.
Mentor
The role of Mentor denotes the most experience with KGS and the most expertise with the American Legion Auxiliary’s activities. Mentors must keep the focus on the goals of the KGS program; ensuring that we produce a great program from which KGS graduates can derive knowledge about themselves, leadership, government, and civic responsibility so when they return to their high schools in their senior year, they can disseminate what they learned in their communities.
As a Mentor, your life has brought you experiences and knowledge that can easily be integrated into the program. You should find these areas of the program that you can directly relate your personal experience, and help the staff see their piece of the puzzle. Your job is to get involved, get to know your citizens, get to know the staff, and offer input and advice in whatever areas you can for your citizens.
Senior Counselor
As a Senior Counselor, your role is to provide guidance to your Junior Counselor, and to oversee that program activities flow smoothly in your city. As such, the job of Senior Counselor is one of the busiest. One aspect of the Senior Counselor’s role that makes them stand apart in that they were asked to return after their Junior Counselor year because they put forth great effort in their cities and made the program better.
Throughout the week, you will be a source of guidance for the Junior Counselors who will learn about operating the program and the citizens who will be participating. You just recently (as late as last year) made the transition to Senior Counselor from Junior Counselor. Now, you will be mentoring your Junior Counselor to help ensure the success of your city. The goal of the Senior Counselor is often times administrative; however, you are a great source of pride and knowledge for the program.
Junior Counselor
The Junior Counselor acts as the liaison between the citizens and staff. Your role is to be their guidance during the week, to answer their questions, and to really get to know them. You will be spending the most time with them, so it’s important to be personable and create a communal environment. The friends you make at KGS are the friends of a lifetime; this motto still applies to the entire KGS Staff.
