Kriti Mehrotra
With Apple TV+’s ‘Girls State’ making it clear that young women are just as interested and invested in the world of politics as their counterparts, we honestly get a documentary like no other. After all, it carefully follows a group of teenage girls as they partake in a week-long endeavor to create a mock government, just to learn the complexities of the same to aid their later goals. Amongst them in the Missouri term of 2022 was actually Tochi Ihekona, whose hard work ultimately panned out as she managed to secure her desired position of State Attorney General.
Tochi Ihekona’s Had Tunnel Vision in the Best Way
Although Tochi is proud to be the daughter of Nigerian immigrants who sacrificed a lot to ensure some stability for her, she’s also well aware of the fact she’s a minority through and through. She thus had genuine concerns when it came time for her to step foot in this aforementioned program despite her personal draw to democracy, yet she thankfully faced no microaggressions. In fact, she said, “My nightmare at Girls State is to go into a space where I’m feeling like, ‘Hey, I don’t belong here’ … [But the girls have] all been super cool. I honestly haven’t experienced microaggressions. I, like – – Mmm. I probably have [yet it wasn’t prominent].”
Coming to why Tochi signed up for this experience in the first place, she admittedly hoped to connect with fellow teen girls who held the same passions as her, all the while feeling empowered. As for her ambition to secure the title of Attorney General, this came from her innate desire to help others while also influencing change through her arguments — hopefully always for the better. So, with a combination of her beliefs as well as her sociable personality, it honestly came as no surprise when she was actually elected for the same by her peer, making it one of her proudest moments.
However, everything quickly turned upside down for Tochi as she had to argue a case wherein the State held the opinion that any woman seeking an abortion must first attend counseling sessions. She obviously didn’t agree with it since this not only violates one’s sense of privacy but also takes away her body autonomy, but she still had to do her job and hence had to keep her morals aside for a while. In the end, the State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff rather than her office, and she was honestly happy to have endured this loss, especially as it ignited a spark of hope in her for the future of our real world.
Tochi Ihekona is Now Based in Washington
Once Tochi’s time at Girls State was over, she gladly returned home to Raytown, Missouri, to complete her basic studies and graduate from high school, all the while spending as much time as possible with her family. That’s especially because she knew she’d soon have to move away for college – at the age of 18, it appears as if she’s attending Howard University in Washington DC at the moment, from where she’s set to graduate in 2027.
From what we can tell, Tochi still plans on stepping into the world of politics once her formal education is complete, so she’s seemingly already focusing on internships/programs that’ll help her along the way. In fact, this speech and debate champion, whose aim is to help marginalized communities impacted by gentrification, race, as well as redlining, currently serves as a Campaign Assistant intern for Salim Adofo for Ward 8.
Even this young Political Science major’s LinkedIn bio reads, in part, “By aligning herself with political advocacy groups, working on campaigns, and interacting with community members, it is evident that she strives to create spaces where political opinions can be respected and pushed to develop policies beneficial to members of the community.”
Read More: Emily Worthmore: Where is the Girls State Teen Now?
