In our latest “Alumni Spotlight” blog, we interview Brent Comstock (NE-2012), who began his start-up venture in digital consulting at age 12, and has now built a number of associated public-serving ventures. Brent’s company, BCom, exemplifies how entrepreneurship and public service can go hand-in-hand. In a nation that celebrates innovation in business, philanthropy and service, USSYP encourages creative, bold leaders like Brent to reach for their …

Read more Alumni Spotlight: 2012 USSYP Alum Brent Comstock bridges entrepreneurship and public service in his start-up »

Delegates to the United States Senate Youth Program are fortunate to meet with the highest-level elected and appointed leaders of our nation, from each government branch, in long-form discussions that include lots of time for Q&A.  Why do busy officials make time for these young people?  Because they know that the future of  our country rests in their hands.  The 104 students who attend Washington …

Read more Window on Washington Week: The People You Shall Meet »

Are you preparing to apply for the 57th Annual United States Senate Youth Program? During the course of seven days, delegates to Washington Week are immersed in the nation’s capital – its history, leaders, culture and architectural splendor. As delegates hear from America’s most distinguished public servants, they incorporate memorable visits to sites such as the National Archives, Arlington National Cemetery, Library of Congress, the …

Read more Window on Washington Week: The Places You Will Go »

The United States Senate Youth Program was founded in 1962 by a bipartisan group of historic Senate statesmen who were united in a vision for finding a new way to encourage the most talented high school students in the nation to consider careers in government. These four Senate leaders worked with the philanthropic sons of William Randolph Hearst, who had initiated the idea and vowed …

Read more The Past and Present: The Founders and Leaders of the Senate Youth Program »

The student delegates to the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) are selected based on their demonstrated leadership in elected or appointed positions; their knowledge of public affairs, current events, politics and history; their passion for serving their communities, and their overall academic success.  Two students from each state, D.C. and the Department of Defense Education Activity overseas come together for the program each year, …

Read more Lessons of Washington Week: The Importance of Civility »

  The United States Senate Youth Program attracts talented young leaders with wide-ranging passions and ambitions.  The common denominator lies in the desire to improve the lives of others.  Josh Dillinger (USSYP WY – 2013) has long known that he wanted to be involved in education.  Combining his talent and creativity in the visual arts with his desire to serve through education, he became an …

Read more Alumni Pathways: Teaching Art to Navajo Nation Students Exemplifies the Many Paths to Public Service »

From the moment he reached the podium, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, spoke heart to heart with students on the edge of adulthood. He described his decision to follow a nontraditional path after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He shared that it would have been easy to follow the crowd into the financial industry, something he had …

Read more A Washington Week Tradition: Ambassadors Offer a Window on the World and Advice for Success »

When Jace Motley (AR – 2013) reflects on his unforgettable week in Washington as a 2013 USSYP delegate, he says that he decided then and there that he wanted to work on Capitol Hill. Jace, a recent graduate of the University of Arkansas, is emblematic of USSYP delegates who set their lofty goals during Washington Week and work toward achieving them step-by-step with grit and …

Read more Alumni Spotlight: USSYP alum follows his dream to work on Capitol Hill »

The Washington Week Experience – Is it for you? It is both commonality and diversity that make Washington Week such a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Student leaders from different backgrounds and geographic locales come together in our nation’s capital to share their passion for public service. During the week-long exchange of ideas between speakers and delegates and among the delegates themselves, the students’ intellectual horizons are widened, …

Read more Behind the scenes: A look into the USSYP delegate experience »

Senator Heidi Heitkamp with Ashlen Wright (left) and Alyx Schmitz (right) Standing before the original founding charters of the United States in the magnificent rotunda of the National Archives, the United States Senate Youth Program 2017 Democratic Co-Chair Senator Heidi Heitkamp captured the profundity and resplendence of the moment. “The greatest blessing you have, other than your family, is that you are born in this …

Read more Spotlight on our 2017 Senate Co-Chairs: 2017 Co-Chair Keynote with Senator Heitkamp at the National Archives »