Two top posts at Va. Girls State go to Richmond-area students

Two Richmond-area high school students were recently elected to the two of the three top offices at Virginia Girls State.

Kayla Upadhyaya of Midlothian, a rising senior at the Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts and Technology, was elected lieutenant governor, and Bolanle Muritala of Henrico County, a rising senior at J.R. Tucker High School, was elected attorney general of the weeklong citizenship seminar sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary. They were elected June 24, then inaugurated two days later.

Virginia Girls State was first held in 1947 and has been held at Longwood University since 1974. Some 620 rising high-school seniors participated in this year's session, held June 21-27.

Participants conduct the affairs of municipal government after breaking up into two parties and 14 "cities." Upadhyaya was a member of the Nationalists and Wilson city, and Muritala was a member of the Federalists and Vance city.

Leah Coates of Colonial Beach, who attends Washington & Lee High School in Westmoreland County, was elected governor.