News Release

August 27, 2018

NEBRASKA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ENCOURAGED TO APPLY FOR UNITED STATES SENATE YOUTH PROGRAM

The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) has begun its annual statewide selection process. Two Nebraska students will join 102 other delegates March 2-9, 2019 for the program’s 57th annual Washington Week.

More than 5,500 students have participated in this extremely competitive merit-based leadership program which brings two students from each state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity to Washington each year to experience an intensive week-long educational program about the workings of the Senate and the federal government overall. Each of the 104 student delegates will receive a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship in addition to an all-expenses paid trip to the nation’s capital.

In addition to outstanding leadership abilities and a strong commitment to volunteer work, the student delegates generally rank academically in the top one percent of their states among high school juniors and seniors. Alumni of the program continue to excel and develop impressive qualities that are often directed toward public service.

The student delegates will visit Capitol Hill, the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, the Supreme Court, and other historic sites in Washington. The agenda routinely includes meetings with senators, the president, Cabinet secretaries, a justice of the Supreme Court, senior members of the national media, and other policymakers.

The Nebraska delegate selection is administered by the Commissioner of Education, Matthew L. Blomstedt, in cooperation with high school principals. Delegates must be juniors or seniors and elected student officers for the 2018-2019 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 where the delegate is serving a constituency in a high-level leadership position for the entire 2018-2019 academic year.

Names of students selected will be formally announced mid-December. Interested students can find more information and download an application at: https://www.education.ne.gov/ss/USSYP.html. The Nebraska application deadline is October 3, 2018.

The 2019 program brochure with detailed rules, selection process, and the annual yearbook may be accessed on the USSYP website at: http://www.ussenateyouth.org/.

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