AZ School Superintendent Diane Douglas announces USSYP teens.

Sedona AZ (December 8, 2016) – Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas today announced that two Arizona students have been selected as delegates to the 55th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP), which will be held March 4-11, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

Henry Rosas Ibarra of Glendale and Meena Venkataramanan of Tucson were chosen from over 80 outstanding Arizona high school applicants to be members of the group of 104 student delegates who will attend the program’s 55th annual Washington Week.

“Henry Rosas Ibarra and Meena Venkataramanan are outstanding students and I know they will represent Arizona proudly as part of this esteemed program,” said Superintendent Douglas. “This is a life-changing opportunity for these students to meet with our nation’s leaders, experience the American political process and reinforce their commitment to public service.”

Henry Rosas Ibarra is a senior at North Pointe Preparatory in Phoenix where he holds the position of president of the National Honor Society. He currently serves on the advisory commission for the City of Glendale’s Park and Recreation Division to represent the city’s youth and advocate for the services they need. Henry also interns at the Office of Congressman Ruben Gallego where he assists with casework and outreach activities.

Meena Venkataramanan is a senior at Catalina Foothills High School where she is president of the Speech and Debate Team. Meena serves as a teen attorney at the Pima County Teen Court, a local nonprofit diversion program for adolescent misdemeanants. She is a member of the Metropolitan Education Commission’s Youth Advisory Council/Tucson Teen Congress, which lobbies state and national leaders on issues impacting her community.

Each year this extremely competitive merit-based program brings the most outstanding high school juniors and seniors—two from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity—to Washington, D.C. for an intensive weeklong study of the federal government.

The Hearst Foundations provide each student with transportation and all expenses for Washington Week, as well as a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship.

Chosen as alternates to the 2017 USSYP were Daiva Scovil of Tucson, who attends University High School, and David Jaffe of Mesa, who attends Westwood High School.

For questions about Arizona’s USSYP, please contact state selection administrator Alexis Susdorf at Alexis.Susdorf@azed.gov or 602-542-3309 or visit www.azed.gov/oci/ussyp/. For general information about the United States Senate Youth Program, please visit www.ussenateyouth.org or contact National Program Director Rayne Guilford at 800-425-3632.

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