Tolbert, an eighth grader at Sky Vista Middle School in Aurora, spent Oct. 12 at the state Capitol, joining Polis for cabinet meetings and conversations with parks and wildlife officials. She also signed a proclamation declaring “Let Students Lead Day,” which Polis co-signed as an official resolution.

“I don’t think students should have to become governor to have their voices heard,” Tolbert said at a Capitol press conference. She said the proclamation was meant to affirm that young people’s opinions matter, regardless of their age.

The new statewide program drew 150 applications from seventh- and eighth-graders, who submitted short videos. Tolbert filmed hers in her grandmother’s garden and said it took two days to complete. She learned she had been chosen after Polis called her father with the news.

During her day at the Capitol, Tolbert said she learned about government budgets, planning, early education and preschool. She described the opportunity as a way to see how leadership shapes the state.

Polis announced the contest in August as an opportunity for young Coloradans to learn about state government. This is the program’s first year. A second winner, eighth grader Weston Hancock of Ridgeline Middle School in Windsor, is scheduled to serve later in October.

With Polis’s term nearing its end, it is unclear whether his successor will continue the program. Tolbert said she hopes it will endure and that her experience will be the first of many for Colorado students.