Whitefish student feels the need to lead at Girls National in Washington, D.C.

Porsche Erekson plans to make her voice heard in Washington, D.C., next week.

As one of Montana's two delegates to the American Legion Auxiliary's Girls Nation today through July 30, Erekson will join her fellow "senator," Kayleigh Brown of Butte, in introducing a bill arguing for gender equity in health-insurance coverage.

If Viagra can be covered by Medicare and Medicaid, the two argue, then women's contraception methods should be, as well.

They figure they will encounter a sympathetic audience when they get together with other young women from across the United States.

But Erekson also wants the nation's lawmakers to sit up and take note that these are voices of the upcoming generation who someday will take their places in seats of power.

Erekson discovered that Girls State, and the subsequent Girls Nation, are prime training grounds for that future.

"I'm just trying to get the word out about this," Erekson said of Girls State. "It's absolutely the best thing I've ever done."

Erekson, who will graduate next spring from Whitefish High School, was chosen to attend Girls State, held June 4 to 10 in Helena, along with three others from the Flathead - Tayler Bertelsen and Chausea Jacobson from Whitefish High, and Amanda Barker from Flathead High.

It is unusual, she said, for three to be chosen from one school. But she said the high level of interest and strong candidates from Whitefish this year impressed the American Legion Auxiliary Post's selection committee.

At Girls State, Erekson was appointed city attorney of Garnet, her "city" for the week on the Carroll College campus.

Then she was elected by her fellow delegates to speak for Montana at the nation's highest level of student representation through the American Legion's citizenship program.

It followed a routine akin to the genuine article when it comes to American politics.

She was among five delegates from the conservative Nationalist Party at Girls State who lined up opposite six delegates for the more-liberal Federalist Party during their races for election as Girls Nation senator.

Of those, two candidates were nominated from each party.

Those four candidates went on a whistle-stop tour, spending 12 minutes at each of four places in Girls Nation to deliver stump speeches. Erekson covered a statewide tax, abortion and stem-cell research - she's against the tax and all for women's rights, she said.

Based on her whistle-stop appearances, Erekson won her party's nod.

During the two days after their election as Girls Nation senators, Brown as a Federalist and Erekson as a Nationalist, they followed schedules that differed from the other delegates.

Working from discussions with other delegates during the first part of Girls State, they sat under the tutelage of a legislative bill-writer as they drafted a cooperative bill they jointly will present at Girls Nation.

Alignment in political parties at Girls State echoed each delegate's beliefs and convictions.

Before arriving in Helena, each girl chose her own party affiliation. Erekson said that, out of the 265 delegates, about 170 signed on with the Nationalists - generally reflecting Montana's conservative bent.

One of the biggest helps to Erekson at Girls State, and almost certainly at Girls Nation, is her background on Whitefish High's speech and debate team.

"It gives you so much confidence," Erekson said.

"I used to be really quiet and really shy. Now I'm just loud and obnoxious," she joked. "I want people to experience that" freedom to speak publicly.

She's been on the speech team all three years of high school - in serious oral interpretation as a freshman, humorous oral interpretation as a sophomore and original oratory this past year, when she hit her stride with a state championship in the event.

"I really enjoy (original oratory). I didn't think I would," she said. "The first part of the season was nerve-wracking, because I had to memorize an entire 10-minute speech. But, eventually, you do it so often that you just know it."

She gives plenty of credit for her success, and her plans to continue with original oratory, to speech coach Beth Beaulieu, who is "so helpful - she knows what she's doing."

Girls Nation, she said, will be similar to Girls State but with a focus on national issues.

Delegates caucus at the beginning of the session, organize committees and conduct hearings on bills, according to the rules of the U.S. Senate.

"I would love for our bill to pass," she said, adding that she does not expect opposition from the all-girl senate. "That would be the payoff."

They also will have a chance to visit the National Mall, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Arlington National Cemetery, State Department and Capitol Hill.

Erekson, the daughter of Ryke and Maria Erekson, hopes to teach high school biology. She admits, though, that it is a backup plan in case her first dream to enter politics fizzles.

She said she would love to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., to get that training, or perhaps Montana State University at Bozeman or the University of Idaho at Moscow.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com.