SEATTLE – Lewis County was well-represented in the first-ever Washington state championship in the national Civics Bee.
Three sixth-graders from Chehalis Middle School were among the statewide finalists competing Thursday after a months-long set of essay and quiz bowl competitions concluded with a championship event held at the Museum of Flight.
Olivia Cherrington, Oliver Stanton and Brady “Bruz” Taylor were among the nine statewide finalists — the most students from any single school in the state to make it to the championship after a qualifying competition held in April in Vancouver.
After answering quiz bowl style questions about American government and history, Taylor made the top five finishers and moved on to a final round. Taylor delivered a speech on the issue of homelessness and answered questions from a panel of judges that included Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, Seattle Times columnist Brier Dudley and former State Board for Community and Technical Colleges executive director Jan Yoshiwara.
The event was sponsored by the AWB Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. It was open to middle-school students across the state who submitted an essay about how they would solve a problem in their community.
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs emceed the competition.
“By competing in the Washington Civics Bee, you are embarking on a fascinating, lifelong journey of public service and civic engagement,” said Hobbs, who discussed his own service in the Legislature and National Guard.
The top prize went to a Tacoma seventh-grader, Benjamin Wu, who spoke in support of computer science education to bridge what he called “the new digital divide.” Wu won a $1,000 cash prize and two tickets from Alaska Airlines to fly to Washington, D.C., as part of the AWB D.C. Fly-in to meet with members of the state’s congressional delegation in December.
Two middle-school students from Vancouver took home the other top prizes. Devin Spector Van Zee, a home-schooled sixth-grader, received $500 for second place after speaking about restoration of the historic Fort Vancouver. Ye Joon Ameling, a sixth-grader at Vancouver iTech Preparatory in Vancouver, received $250 for third place after speaking about cutting littering.
“Today we saw intelligence, ideas and energy,” said AWB President Kris Johnson who closed the event. “We saw middle schoolers who are thoughtful, knowledgeable and willing to think about big solutions to big problems. We saw the future, and it is bright, indeed.”
