Collins, King Encourage Maine High School Students to Apply for U.S. Senate Youth Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King are encouraging Maine high school students to apply for the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP), which has begun its statewide selection process for the program’s 55th Annual Washington Week. The USSYP brings two students from each state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity to Washington to experience an intensive week-long educational program about the workings of the Senate and the federal government overall. Maine’s two selected students will join 104 other delegates March 4 – 11, 2017.
“The United States Senate Youth program is a wonderful opportunity for Maine students to learn about federal policymaking, develop their leadership skills, and get an inside look at the day-to-day work of our government,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “We encourage all interested students to apply for this distinguished program.”
Each of the 104 student delegates will receive a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship, in addition to the all-expenses paid trip to the nation’s capital where they will visit Capitol Hill, the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, the Supreme Court, and other historic sites in Washington. They will meet with senators, cabinet officers, government leaders, policy-makers, and participate in a meeting with a Justice of the Supreme Court. The USSYP is fully funded by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
More than 5,500 students have participated in the leadership program since its creation in 1962, including Senator Collins who holds the distinction of being the first program delegate elected to the U.S. Senate.
The delegate selection is administered by each state’s chief school officer in cooperation with high school principals. Delegates must be juniors or seniors and elected student officers for the 2016-2017 academic year, and they must reside in the state where they attend school. Eligibility considerations may also be made for student representatives elected or selected (by a panel, commission, or board) to district, regional, or state-level civic or educational organizations.
Interested students should contact their high school principal or the state-level selection administrator:
Ms. Kristie Littlefield
Social Studies Specialist
Maine Department of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0023
(207) 624-6828
The Maine selection deadline is October 17, 2016.
The 2017 program brochure with detailed rules, selection process and the annual yearbook may be accessed at: www.ussenateyouth.org.
In March 2016, Senators Collins and King met with Julia Blackwell of Woolwich and Lexie Jamieson of Scarborough, the two Maine delegates to the 54th Annual USSYP.
