It is our pleasure to announce the 2020-2021 United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. This year, we are able to award two Utah students $10,000 each in academic scholarships! They will also attend the 59th Annual “Washington Week” online—a fantastic opportunity for our student representatives to virtually meet and mingle with national leaders. The 59th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) will be held in an online format for 2021. Washington Week ONLINE will take place March 14 – 18, 2021 and will be a fully immersive learning experience incorporating the key elements of the program week in an exciting, interactive format. The winning delegates representing Utah MUST attend Washington Week from March 14-18, 2020. The scholarship funding and Washington Week are INSEPARABLE.
As you work with your colleagues to identify potential candidates, please keep in mind the following qualifying criteria which must be met for students to compete:
HOW TO QUALIFY: Qualified high school juniors or seniors must show demonstrated leadership by serving in elected or appointed positions in which they are actively representing or previously represented a constituency in organizations related to student government, education, public affairs and community service. Students may qualify to apply through leadership positions they currently hold per the USSYP official criteria for the current 2020-2021 academic year, OR if students are unable to hold leadership positions this year due to the pandemic, they can submit a qualifying position held during the 2019-2020 academic year. Any high school junior or senior student is eligible for the program provided he or she has not previously been a delegate to Washington Week and has not received a USSYP scholarship. All student leadership positions are subject to the judgement and verification of the state selection administrators. They must also be enrolled in high school and living in the state that they will represent for the entire academic year.
SUBMITTING YOUR NOMINEES: Each high school is invited to nominate only two competitors to vie for the $10,000 scholarships and participate in the virtual Washington Week event. If your school will participate in this year’s competition, please submit the names of your school's two nominees using our google form no later than 5:00 PM on Friday, November 6, 2020. Please coordinate with others at your school before submission to ensure that there are no duplicate school submissions and only two student names are submitted per school.
Submit Your Nominees Here: https://forms.gle/jfzPmyR5DSHYDF7f8
On November 9th, once the deadline for name submission has passed, an email will go out to all nominees and their listed school contacts with further instructions submitting their portfolios digitally. Students will prepare a small, concise portfolio of no more than 20 pages consisting of their activities in the following areas: leadership ability, high scholastic standing and demonstrated ability to achieve including transcripts, community involvement, and participation in a wide selection of activities on and off campus. This year’s deadline for portfolio submission is 5:00 PM on December 11, 2020. Portfolios MUST BE RECEIVED BY THIS DATE.
Students will compete virtually in January 2021, date TBD. Students chosen to represent your school will participate in a day-long competition consisting of essay question response, roundtable discussions, extemporaneous speeches, and—most importantly—the student portfolio.
Resources:
Official Brochure: https://ussenateyouth.org/selection_process_brochure
United States Senate Youth Website: https://ussenateyouth.org
USBE’s Senate Youth Website: https://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/socialstudies?mid=1129&aid=4
For more information:
Brenda McMurtrey
USSYP Coordinator, Utah
Utah State Board of Education
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