Virginia Governor Ralph Northam visited approximately 600 rising high school seniors at Longwood University, encouraging their interest in government and encouraging them to pursue their education, relationships and service to their communities above all else.

Northam was the keynote speaker of the 73rd annual American Legion Auxiliary Girls State, in which high school students from all over Virginia gather at Longwood University to learn about government procedures and assume leadership roles.

Anne Starke, director of Girls State, said the program allows students a platform to come out of their shells and cultivate passions cemented in their communities and state.

Over the weeklong conference, students developed an election system and spoke with members of area government.

During his address, Northam spoke about what motivated him to run for office and some of his first pieces of legislature once elected.

He was a children’s neurologist. After seeing how health insurance companies increasingly influenced health care and the actions of doctors like him, and seeing the decline of the Chesapeake Bay, Northam said he needed to enact change on the state level.

He said one of his first pieces of legislature once elected to the Senate in January 2008 was to ban secondhand smoke from public places such as restaurants. The legislation was passed a year later.

“That is what we call the Virginia Way,” Northam said about the process of making change on the state level, referring to Virginia as the best state in the U.S. “The Virginia Way is an agree to disagree when we meet in the assembly, but at the end of the day, sitting back at the table, and putting our politics aside. It doesn’t matter whether you are a republican, a democrat or an independent. Putting all that aside, and doing what is in the best interest of Virginians.”

Addressing the participants, Northam said, “As I look across this audience, it really gives me hope. You are our future, and I want you all to be involved. You have wonderful ideas, and to be here at Girls State and to be part of this process is a very commendable thing.”

One of the most pressing issues facing Virginia, Northam said, is the opioid epidemic. Death from overdoses, affected more than 1,200 people in Virginia in 2017.

“There are a lot of reasons for opioid and drug addiction,” Northam told the students.

“Just stay away from them,” Northam said about opioids. “You don’t need them … This opioid crisis does not discriminate.”

Advice he gave to the students was to continue their education. He noted the excellent colleges and universities in Virginia. He also said education and careers can also be found through vocational career paths and advance certifications from community colleges or apprenticeships.

He encouraged more women to enter science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and health care fields.

“Aim high, the sky is the limit,” Northam said.

He encouraged students to not be deterred by mistakes, but to try to make something better from them.

Northam took three questions from members of the audience, read by Girls State President Candice Mulinda.

The first question concerned what actions were done for educators following the Red for Ed. walkout, in which hundreds of educators in Virginia demonstrated in January for more equitable pay.

Northam said some of those issues have been address, noting that legislature was passed to give Virginia teachers a 5-percent pay raise.

He answered a question concerning more accessible processes for driver’s licenses for those recently immigrated to the United States.

He said the legislation is introduced each year, and each year it does not pass. Northam said all 140 members of the state Senate and the House of Representatives are up for election in November.

“I would just encourage you to get out there and help candidates that you see (have) the same thoughts as you have,” Northam said.

Answering a question about advice for audience members interested in running for office, Northam encouraged them to become involved in their communities and build their careers and life experiences.

Northam, after the address, shook hands and spoke with students as he left Jarman Auditorium.