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High school student steps from shadows of Rockland
to take unofficial reins of ITD for a day

When people ask Alyse Hull where she calls home, she routinely tells them Pocatello.

It’s not that the high school junior tries to hide the fact that her home is in Rockland (due south of American Falls); it’s that no one’s heard of Rockland and she finds it easier to tell people she’s from Pocatello.

“Most people know where Pocatello is,” she said.

The 16-year-old was one of several hundred girls from across Idaho participating in the annual Girls State program sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary. The one-week summer activity introduces young women, who will be high school seniors, to basic principles of government.

Hull said she was happy that she had been selected to be transportation director for a day as part of her 2012 Girls State experience.

“I was excited because I hoped I would get something other than Fish and Game,” she said. She had applied to Girls State leadership for the Department of Fish and Game or ITD but confided that she already new much about Fish and Game because a neighbor worked for the department.

“ITD is different from the rest of the state agencies because it receives no state taxes from the general fund,” Hull said.

The department’s commitment to safety also attracted Hull who explained that an unbelted school friend was injured during a car crash.

“It really hit home. We were all worried for her,” she said. “I drive my siblings around a lot, and the first thing I ask them is ‘is your seat belt on?’”

Deputy Director Scott Stokes showed Hull how ITD is funded and discussed the department’s statewide responsibilities (top photo).

While at ITD, she toured the Division of Aeronautics and visited the Highway Safety Office. She also stopped by ITD’s video studio because of her interest in digital video production and photography.

Hull produced a short digital media production promoting the Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference that will be held in Orlando, Fla., in 2013. That effort earned her high marks regionally and an 11th-place nationally.

Montana State University, Idaho State University, Boise State University and Lewis-Clark State College are the four colleges Hull has identified as potentials for the next step in her education.

After college, she hopes to start a photography business or seek a position in graphic design and production.