New York 2009 delegates Charlotte Saul and Erica Pincus visit with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before she spoke to delegates. The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) delegates have been profoundly fortunate to have received personal knowledge, wisdom and encouragement from the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg over many years.  Justice Ginsburg readily answered the call to serve as keynote speaker whenever asked, a request …

Read more Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A True Teacher, Committed to the Next Generation »

Alaska 2020 Delegate Stella Tallmon Finds Solace in Nature and Purpose in Volunteering and Education in the Beautiful Community of Juneau. We continue our Blog series about the 2020 delegates and how they have been faring since Washington Week was canceled due to the global pandemic. Two outstanding student leaders are selected to serve as USSYP delegates from each state in the nation, as well …

Read more United States Senate Youth Program Class of 2020: Profiles of Leadership and Resilience During the Pandemic: Stella Tallmon – Alaska »

Arizona 2020 Delegate Victor Anaya Exemplifies Leadership on Public Health Policy in His Tight-Knit Community. We continue our Blog series on the USSYP Class of 2020, whose Washington Week has the dubious distinction of being the first to be canceled due to a global pandemic. The 2020 program was canceled just as the fast-spreading Covid-19 virus began changing life as we know it. True to …

Read more United States Senate Youth Program Class of 2020: Profiles of Leadership and Resilience During the Pandemic: Victor Anaya – Arizona »

Florida 2020 Delegate Lorraine Angelakos Exemplifies Leadership and Initiative With a Memorable Virtual High School Graduation. A new USSYP Blog series will focus on the USSYP Class of 2020, whose Washington Week has the dubious distinction of being the first to be canceled due to a global pandemic. The program was to have begun at the same moment that sections of the United States began …

Read more United States Senate Youth Program Class of 2020: Profiles of Leadership and Resilience During the Pandemic: Lorraine Angelakos – Florida »

Delegates to the 2018 United States Senate Youth Program were able to share a memorable afternoon with Civil Rights icon, Congressman John Lewis. Upon returning to their hometowns and families after the program, each student had the opportunity to reflect upon this experience, one of the most memorable in USSYP history. We share these excerpts with you now as a lasting tribute to an American …

Read more Senate Youth Program Washington Week 2018 delegates share personal reflections on the inspiration of Congressman John Lewis »

  One of the milestones of the United States Senate Youth Program’s Washington Week is composing a reflection essay once delegates have boarded planes and trains and returned to hometowns across the United States. Each year essays arrive filled with inspiration, poignancy and revelation. Reading them, the emotions are so vivid that the week feels like it ended only hours ago. Evidently, these memories do …

Read more Alumni Spotlight: Reflections from Washington Week 1966 by Gary Hoachlander (MD-1966) »

As the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic began to unfold, the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) made the difficult decision to forgo the in-person 2020 Washington Week experience for only the second time in the program’s 58-year history, the other being in 1991 after the declaration of war in the Persian Gulf. Shortly following the decision, public health officials across the nation issued “Stay …

Read more Inaugural Washington Week Online Webinar Features Senate Youth Program Alumnus and Emergency Preparedness Expert Brian Kamoie »

USSYP:  Tell us about your life after the Senate Youth Program’s Washington Week. Jordan: I was a USSYP delegate from Minnesota in 2011. After graduating from Harvard in 2015, I started working in the Minneapolis office of McKinsey & Company, a management consultancy. I worked with clients on five continents while with McKinsey and learned a ton about business and leadership. I was then recruited …

Read more Alumni Spotlight: Jordan Rasmusson (MN-2011) Pursuing Public Service as a Candidate for the Minnesota State Legislature »

During the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic, we look back to the reassuring words and calm wisdom of Washington Week 2017 keynote speaker Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, the 19th Surgeon General of the United States. A holistic philosophy and deep passion for public service were central to the presentation by the soft-spoken, self-effacing 39-year old, who came to the podium as the youngest person and the first …

Read more Wisdom for an Uncertain Time: Contemplating, Science, Health and Public Service »

In a new post in the Alumni Bookshelf series, we are delighted to feature alumni Noah Harris (MS-2018), who recently wrote a children’s book called Successville to inspire and encourage children to “dream big” and work hard to achieve their goals. Based on his own childhood growing up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the brightly illustrated story teaches children about the importance of education. It tells readers …

Read more The Alumni Bookshelf: USSYP Alumni Author Noah Harris on finding Successville »