Youth Civic Resources
I want to ensure that as many students as possible have access to just as many experiences as I had in civics, if not more. I encourage parents and students alike to look through these opportunities and try at as many as possible! There’s so much to learn and gain from them.
New Hampshire Legislative Youth Advisory Council
The New Hampshire Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC), which I previously chaired, is a statutory committee of the state legislature made up of high school and postsecondary students. That means it’s governed by the same laws as any other legislative committee, as well as its own law (RSA 19-K), and it works directly with legislators to provide the youth perspective on new policy. It’s a great way to either be introduced to state government or become more immersed and connected with it.
New Hampshire Governor’s Youth Advisory Council on Substance Misuse and Prevention
The New Hampshire Governor’s Youth Advisory Council (GYAC), established by Governor Sununu (Executive Order 2020-12), is composed of high school students advising the Office of the Governor on the substance abuse crisis facing New Hampshire, especially as it impacts youth and our schools. It meets once a month in the Executive Council Chambers.
New Hampshire American Legion Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Granite Girls State
Boys State and Girls State are annual programs held by the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary, respectively, for rising seniors. For a week, participants emulate the local, county, and state governments of New Hampshire, as well as party politics. They also get to hear from various state officials, including representatives, senators, executive councilors, judges, and the governor. These programs offer an intensive simulation of government as well as a great deal of camaraderie and fellowship. Two students from each program are also selected each year to attend Boys Nation and Girls Nation in Washington, D.C., which serve as simulations of the United States Senate, and scholarships are available through all of the programs as well.
Serving as one of New Hampshire’s 2023 Boys Nation Senators was a tremendous honor, and it provided me with a great deal of knowledge regarding our federal legislature, especially in contrast to the state level.
American Legion Oratorical Contest
The American Legion Oratorical Contest allows middle and high school students to learn about our nation’s Constitution through prepared public speaking. Each year, there are three constitutional topics given to all contestants that they must prepare and memorize speeches on. Not only is it a great way to learn, but there are generous scholarships available, as well.
New Hampshire State House and Senate Page Programs
The New Hampshire State House and Senate both offer a one-day page program for high school students that allow them to interact with representatives or senators and their staff during session. Pages serve during a session day, assisting staff with distributing papers, making copies, and other duties of the House or Senate. It’s a great way to get to know our legislators and see the procedures of our state’s legislature more personally.
United States Senate Page Program
The United States Senate Page Program is a New Hampshire tradition, with Senator Daniel Webster, representing Massachusetts but from Franklin, NH, appointing the first official Senate Page in 1829. Since then, the program has grown, and now students from all over the country are brought to D.C. to assist the Senate in its duties. Pages work on the Senate floor and directly with the Senators and their staff, get paid, and attend school on Capitol Hill. Students can apply for this opportunity through the offices of our U.S. Senators, either Maggie Hassan or Jeanne Shaheen.
United States Senate Youth Program
The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) was established by U.S. Senate Resolution 324 in 1962 and selects two high school juniors or seniors a year from each state to recieve a $10,000 scholarship and a free trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with federal officials from every branch of government, often including Supreme Court Justices, their own Senators, and the President of the United States. The application process is administered by each state’s Department of Education, while the program itself is organized by the Senate and the Hearst Foundations.
I served as one of the two Senate Youth delegates from New Hampshire in 2024, and it was truly one of the most impactful experiences of my life. It’s competitive to get in, to be sure, but it’s worth the effort, both for the scholarship and for the connections you get to make with other young leaders from across the country.
New Hampshire VFW Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy Scholarships
The VFW offers scholarship contests for middle and high school students who submit either written essays or prepared oration. The Voice of Democracy contest is available to students in grades 9-12 and involves submitting a recorded speech on a topic or prompt of the VFW’s choosing. State-level prizes include at least $1,000 for first place and the national first place prize is $35,000, with many smaller scholarships available as well. The Patriot’s Pen contest is for students in grades 6-8 and requires participants to write a 300-400 word essay on a VFW-chosen patriotic prompt. The state-level first place prize is at least $500 and the national first place prize is $5,000, again with many more scholarships available. These are both great opportunities to practice writing and speaking about civics, history, and patriotism from a young age while also earning money to put towards college.
New Hampshire YMCA Youth and Government
Similar to Boys and Girls State, Youth and Government (Y&G) is a simulation of the New Hampshire state government, although slightly more abbreviated. The program is typically organized through schools, but students in schools without Y&G groups can still join. The program takes place between the State House and Supreme Court and allows participants to fully engage with all facets of the state government, from caucusing to drafting legislation to arguing cases before the Supreme Court. It’s a great opportunity and one of the few that can be repeated every year of high school.
National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center has many free resources that are great for teaching people of all ages about the Constitution of the United States! From analyses of different interpretations of the document to a clause-by-clause breakdown of it to high school curricula, it’s an excellent resource to improve understanding of our nation’s founding document!
NHCivics
NHCivics provides resources for civic education, from teacher seminars to parent events to student activities, such as the New Hampshire Kid Governor program. These resources are incredibly valuable to increasing the quality of civic education in our state and programs like Kid Governor provide an outlet for younger students to learn and get involved in ways they’d otherwise be unable to!
iCivics
Founded by the late US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics provides free resources to teach younger kids about U.S. history and government, including online games, family activities, and curricula. It’s a very approachable way to teach kids about civics from an early age.
New Hampshire State Archives
The New Hampshire State Archives offer a great deal of educational resources on New Hampshire history, as well as information on the History in the 603 Contest, which helps promote New Hampshire history among high schoolers.
The White House’s America 250 Digital Founders Museum
The White House has created many videos and resources to teach about the signers of the Declaration of Independence and about the history of the Revolutionary War in general. From biographies to the stories of different events, this digital museum has a great deal to offer students of the Revolution.
New Hampshire Historical Society
The New Hampshire Historical Society not only has many artifacts in its collection in Concord, but also provides a lot of online information for people of all ages to learn about the history of the Granite State!
Representative James Thibault 