The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction has opened the selection cycle for the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP).Through the program, two delegates will be selected to receive a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship and will attend the 60th annual Washington Week to be held March 5-12, 2022.
This competitive, merit-based program brings two high school juniors and seniors from every state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity, to Washington, D.C. (or into an online forum) for an intensive weeklong study of the federal government and its leaders. The program agenda routinely includes meetings with senators, the president, Cabinet secretaries, a justice of the Supreme Court, senior members of the national media, and other key policymakers. Each speaking event incorporates lengthy and detailed question-and-answer sessions that are closed to the media. The Hearst Foundations have fully funded and administered the program since its inception in 1962; no government funds are used.
Delegates must be juniors or seniors and elected or appointed student officers for the 2021-2022 academic year, and they must reside in the state where they attend school. 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. Interested students can find the North Dakota application – as well as criteria, basic qualifications, and rules – on DPI's website. North Dakota's application deadline is October 22, 2021.
Names of selected delegates will be formally announced in early January 2022. The 2022 program brochure with detailed rules and additional information about the selection process may be accessed on the USSYP website. The 2021 Washington Week was held online due to the pandemic; a decision regarding whether the 2022 program will be held in person or online is to be determined.