Jacob Roberts, a student at Brighton High, has been chosen as an alternate delegate for the 53rd annual U.S. Senate Youth Program.

The competitive program takes 104 students – two from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity – to Washington, D.C., for a weeklong study of the federal government and the people who lead it.  This year’s program is March 7-14, 2015. 

Participants receive a $5,000 scholarship from the Hearst Foundation with encouragement to continue coursework in government and public affairs.

Roberts was selected as an alternate delegate by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Brad Smith, who weighed nominations submitted by teachers and principals statewide based on leadership, voluntarism, and academic achievement. His selection was announced earlier this month by U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee. 

While in Washington, the student delegates attend meetings and briefings with Senators, House Representatives and Congressional staff, a Justice of the Supreme Court, leaders of cabinet agencies, an Ambassador to the United States and senior members of the national media. The students will also tour many of the national monuments and several museums and they will stay at the historic Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C.

Program participants typically rank in the top 1 percent of the state’s high school juniors and seniors.