Matt Riley, News Editor
@MRileyCourant
Every year, two students from each state have the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. to participate in the United States Senate Youth Program. These students will engage in a week-long learning experience designed to help the young leaders of today further understand our federal government through meetings with President Barack Obama, congressmen, supreme court justices, and senators all while developing their leadership skills through a series of workshops. This year, seniors Veronica Ma and Charlie Sosnick were chosen as the two representatives from Connecticut, marking the first time both state representatives were chosen from the same school. to represent our school and our state. This marks the first time in the history of the program that two students from the same school have been selected as student senators.
The selection process itself was a long and complicated procedure, beginning with a nomination from the school administration. “I got involved after Dr. LeDuc nominated Veronica and I,” Charlie said. “I’m student body president and Veronica is class president, so we were a good fit for the program.”
Once nominated, students have to complete an application with standardized information about themselves and write an essay. In order to be chosen for the program, Charlie and Veronica had to stand out amongst hundreds of other applications from schools all around Connecticut. “I knew that the selection process was extremely competitive and that only two people per state would be able to participate, so I honestly had no expectations,” Veronica said.
Charlie felt the same way. “When I was working on my application, I was caught up in homework and college applications so I didn’t have a great deal of time to focus on the essay or documents we had to submit,” he said. “I definitely didn’t go into it thinking I would see any results.”
Both Charlie and Veronica were extremely excited when they learned they both would have the chance to participate. “The fact that I made it to the interview stage alone was amazing,” Charlie said. “It’s unbelievable to me that I’ve won this whole thing. I was in disbelief, especially when I heard that Veronica had won too,” he said.
“When I heard we both got in, I didn’t believe it,” Veronica said. “I had to double check with Mr. Sullivan and the rest of the administration to confirm it because I was afraid to celebrate.”
Sending two students from the same school to participate in the program is unprecedented. “We were all so excited when we heard that Charlie and Veronica had made it to the interviewing stage,” Acting Principal Veronica LeDuc said. “They have such a wonderful opportunity here to learn skills they can use for the future. The entire week is completely filled with programs for the students. Seeing Veronica and Charlie so involved and interested is exciting.”
The program will run for a full week in March of next year. “I’ve got a once in a lifetime opportunity here. All I can think about is what I’m going to ask the President,” Charlie said.
