Beaufort County senior is among 2 from SC selected to attend U.S. Senate program
There are thousands of high school students in South Carolina public schools, but each year only two are selected for the U.S. Youth Senate Program in Washington, D.C. This year, Madison Hahn, a senior at May River High School, is one of them.
“I am so proud of you and for you and your family,” State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said on a Zoom call with Hahn. “We’re so thankful and proud to have you represent the state of South Carolina.”
Greenville County’s Kshiraj Talati also won. Hahn and Talati, along with two representatives from each of the other 49 states, will receive a $10,000 college scholarship from The Hearst Foundation, which funds the program.
In March, they will attend briefings and meetings with Biden, U.S. senators, a Supreme Court justice, cabinet members, federal agency leaders and members of the national media, according to the program website.
After being nominated as an alternate last year, Hahn said she is excited to go to Washington for the first time.
“The experience is so unique to anything else. It’s crazy that you can really put face to a name, shake a hand,” she said. “I’m so excited to see these people and be able to see the Capitol.”
Hahn qualified by holding a leadership position — class president — and was then nominated by teachers.
“I was nominated this year because of my success last year,” Hahn said, explaining that last year she went to every social studies teacher she knew and told them how much she wanted to be in the program.
Once nominated, candidates took a test on the constitution, government, civics, politics and current events. The state’s top 10 scores were interviewed by a panel including Department of Education employees, University of South Carolina political science faculty and members of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s campaign team.
“At that point, it’s all about your performance in the interview,” Hahn said. “I’ve done a lot of stuff through my Youth in Government program and I do mock trial and mock appeals. That’s really helped me learn how to answer questions well, think on my feet well, and try to be a little bit more articulate in high-pressure situations.”
Hahn said she wants to study political science and international business for her undergraduate degree and then go to law school to be a corporate or intelligence property lawyer.
“You’re going to be so successful wherever you go,” Spearman said on the Zoom.
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 11:56 AM.
