NEW TOWN – Jhosthine “Nin” Tavera, New Town High School student and daughter of Josefina and Florante Tavera, recently attended Girls Nation following her sponsorship by New Town American Legion Auxiliary Post 290 to attend N.D. Girls State.

Tavera had been selected at the conclusion of Girls State to represent North Dakota at Girls Nation in Washington, D.C., last July. While there, she and her co-senator wrote a bill proposing legal pathways and opportunities for employment by individuals with international degrees, which they called the Restorative Pathway Act. This bill would create a legal means for international degrees to be amended and considered equal to United States credentials.

Tavera’s idea for the bill came from watching her father, a well-respected civil engineer in the Philippines, struggle to gain employment in the United States, as his degree was not recognized due to differences in credentials.

Although Girls Nation is formally known for its mock legislative sessions, the bill was selected to be officially introduced, with an amendment, to the Senate because it reflected the dream of a Girls Nation participant to make life better in America.

Tavera and four other Girls Nation attendees also were selected to participate in the laying of the wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Of the five participants, three are selected to be sentries, and the two receive the honor of placing the wreath on the tomb. Tavera was one of the two placing the wreath.

The New Town American Legion Auxiliary Post 290 issued a statement indicating its pride in Tavera for honorably representing the auxiliary, her family, New Town High School, the city of New Town, and the state of North Dakota at Girls State and Girls Nation.