Zoya Shah

Inauguration Day

Zoya standing next to the podium, looking at camera and smiling. Have you ever felt like you were going to explode with excitement? Well that was how I felt on Jan 25. This was “The Day!” The day I had been waiting for since November 27. This was the day that my aunt and uncle had come all the way from Seattle for. This was the day my friends had missed school for. This was the day I had missed school for. This was it. This was my Inauguration day.

The moment I woke up, I was busy. My to-do list for that morning had been: wake up, eat breakfast, take a shower, wait for everyone else to take a shower, change into my inauguration outfit (which was very special since my grandma sent it all the way from India), and LEAVE. The night before, it had been made very clear that no lollygagging was to be done and that we must be out of the door by 11:OO because we were going all the way to Salem. WE did make it out on time. When we first caught sight of the capitol building, I was in awe of the gorgeous place. Just thinking that so many important people had been inaugurated here and that my inauguration was here too, sent shivers down my spine.

When we entered the building, the first thing we saw was a metal detector. But as we got closer to the Senate Chamber Things felt fancier and lavish. When we got to the senate Chamber itself, I took a sharp breath. A fancy podium was at the head of the room and the seats in front were cushioned and they swiveled. The Chambers’ high ceilings were floor to ceiling polished wood. As others filed in, I could see how this place looked while meetings were in session. I could almost imagine an important person giving a speech, with a crowd hanging onto their every word. When everyone arrived, the Deputy Secretary of State Cheryl Myers gave a speech. She spoke about what the Oregon Kid Governor program was about and how I was elected. In a few minutes she was introducing Lea Andrus (The 2023 kid governor) who gave a speech about what she did in her term and what her platform is. And then before I knew it, it was my turn to give a speech. Before I gave my speech I was sworn in by retired Oregon Supreme court Justice Paul De Muniz. As he delivered the oath of office, I put my left hand over my heart and held out my right hand, and I felt so happy and proud.

I had come with the expectation that I would be nervous. But once I got two paragraphs into the speech I realized that it was not that bad. The words flowed off my tongue naturally and I felt confident in what I was saying. My speech felt like it lasted 5 seconds but in reality it was three minutes. After my speech I spoke with Senate President Rob Wagner who was very nice and funny. Then I had a conversation with State Treasurer Tobias Read who had previously sent me a letter congratulating me on my election as Kid Governor.

So many elected officials were shaking my hand that day. So many people were congratulating me. So many camera crews were waiting to take my interview. So much happened that day. When I walked out of the door that day, I felt so excited. This was the day that it all became real.

Zoya, her mother and brother, stand with Rob Wagner and Cheryl Myers in the Senate Chambers.

Zoya and family with Rob Wagner in front of Senate Chambers.

Cabinet Member Guest Blog: Phebe

Hi, my name is Phebe and I was a final candidate in the 2024 Oregon’s Kid Governor Election. I’m now a member of the Kid Governor’s Cabinet working with 2024 Kid Governor Zoya!

I ran on a platform of saving our endangered species, such as the rusty patched bumblebee. I chose this issue because I already knew how bees that nest underground were endangered, and bees are vital to our food supply. I want to keep our ecosystems healthy, so this is why I ran for Kid governor. My three-point platform is:

To inform teachers and children on the nature around us and encourage schools to take students on more nature hikes.
To create a save the bees, save our food sources committee.
Successfully run a fundraiser and donate the money raised to the Oregon Bee Project.

Since the Statewide Election, I have made a flier for my first point and have taught my classmates about my experience at the inauguration. I will continue to work on my platform by running a penny drive at my school, Pacific Ridge Elementary.

If you would like to support my platform, you can share my flier and donate to my future fundraiser. Download flyer

Surprise Announcement

The Day I found out that I was Oregon’s kid governor (11/27/23), started out like any normal day. My mom was fussing over my clothes and hair, but she always does that. But little did I know that the reason that she was overdoing it was that she knew that I was Oregon Kid Governor, even though I didn’t. The true wonders began in school. Right when we got to school our first instruction was to look on the whiteboard (where our schedule is). That day, the schedule was changed. Instead of math, library assembly was written in black marker. Though I had no idea what that meant, I was delighted in missing math.

When the library assembly came around, rumors were swirling around the 5th grade ranging from a guest lecture to learning about how to behave in the library. A look of confusion passed on mine and my classmates faces as we saw various camera crews and people crowded in the library. As we took our seats, one of my friends suggested that maybe they were here for ORKG. Startled, I realized that this was the week when I was supposed to find out if I was ORKG. My heartbeat faster and faster as the Deputy Secretary of State, Cheryl Myers, stood on the podium and gave a speech. And then suddenly my own face flashed on the tv. Then someone was saying that I was the next kid governor. The roar that filled the library was so loud that I could not even hear the announcer. My parents emerged from behind a bookshelf. I blundered through my speech, still in shock. When I finished my speech, Superintendent Dr. Gustavo Balderas gave a very inspiring speech. After that my friends swarmed me, and I could barely breathe. But they did have to leave to go to the classroom. I, however, had to stay while a tv station interviewed me, and I was so scared my knees were trembling.

When I got back to class, I found out that my teacher and my parents had known that I was the kid governor for 2 WHOLE WEEKS, and they were not allowed to tell me. I was a little bummed out when I found out that I had not missed math, but I was so happy that it didn’t matter much to me. The day went on as normal, but at recess all of my friends came to me and hugged and congratulated me.

When I got home my parents were jubilant, even though they already knew. My parents let me choose where we went out to dinner; I chose Olive Garden. We don’t usually have dessert at restaurants, but since it was a special day my parents got a cheesecake. At the end of the night, I felt so happy and nervous. I was looking forward to the future and all the amazing opportunities it would bring.