S.C. students selected for U.S. Senate Youth Program

Listen to this article

Two S.C. high school seniors will travel to Washington, D.C., in March to participate in the United States Senate Youth Program.

Janine D’Souza, a senior at Riverside High School in the Greenville County School District, and senior Hannah Hedley of Hammond School in Columbia have been selected as the state’s delegates and scholarship recipients, according to a news release from the S.C. Department of Education.

The program, created in 1962, sends 104 high school students representing each state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity to Washington for a weeklong study of the federal government. The students will meet with senators, cabinet members and officials from federal departments and agencies.

The Hearst Foundation, which funds the program, also provides each of the delegates with a $10,000 college scholarship and covers all travel expenses.

“Janine and Hannah are exceptional students who will represent South Carolina with distinction as delegates to the United States Senate Youth Program,” S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said in the release. “Congratulations to these young ladies on being selected for this extremely competitive scholarship program.”