CHEYENNE – Cameron Nicholas Reckard and Tamica Lee Smith will join Senator John Barrasso and Senator Cynthia Lummis in representing Wyoming during the 60th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) Washington Week, set for March 6-9, 2022.
The USSYP was established by the U.S. Senate in 1962, and provides an educational experience for students interested in public service careers. The program provides an in-depth view of the Senate and federal government, as well as a deeper understanding of the relationships between the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Branches. During the program week, the student delegates will attend online meetings and briefings with senators, the president, a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, leaders of cabinet agencies and senior members of the national media, among others.
Delegates and alternates are selected by the state departments of education nationwide, after nomination by teachers and principals. The chief state school officer for each jurisdiction confirms the final selection.
Reckard and Smith, both of Sheridan, were selected from among the state’s top student leaders to be part of the 104 national student delegation who will each also receive a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate study from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 program will break ground as the first-ever fully virtual Washington Week, and is designed to be a highly interactive and exciting education and leadership forum for the nation’s most outstanding student leaders.
Reckard, a junior at Sheridan High School, serves as the Student Council Junior Class president. He also serves as the secretary general of the Model UN team, is co-vice president of the Speech and Debate team, and is a member of the National Honor Society. Reckard participates in Interact, a community service club, competes on his school’s highly successful We The People team, and volunteers in his community with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. He attended the 2021 Summer High School Institute at the University of Wyoming and represented his school at the Wyoming Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership conference. He has also written, directed, filmed, and produced a short film in collaboration with the WYO Film Festival. After graduating in 2023, Reckard hopes to pursue an undergraduate degree in business, followed by his MBA.
Smith, a senior at the Arvada/Clearmont High School, serves as the president of the Clear Creek Future Farmers of America (FFA). She is an active member of numerous student organizations, including serving as the president of Student Council and president of National Honor Society. Her community FFA organization hosted the Jerry Hampshire Benefit, a fundraiser for a community member diagnosed with cancer. She has also been recognized for her accomplishments and leadership through earning Student of the Second Quarter in 2019, and the Student of the First Quarter in 2021. After graduating in 2022, Smith plans to pursue undergraduate degrees in marketing and studio arts.
Chosen as alternates to the 2022 program were Jaden Sophia Campbell of Saratoga, who attends Niobrara County High School, and Jackson Bridger Fouras of Teton Village, who attends Jackson Hole High School.
Each year this extremely competitive merit-based program brings the most exceptional high school students – two from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity – to Washington, D.C. for an intensive week-long study of the federal government and the people who lead it. However, this year, the program will be held online. The mission of the program is to help instill within each class of USSYP student delegates more profound knowledge of the American political process and a lifelong commitment to public service.
For more information, visit: www.ussenateyouth.org.
Media Contact:
Linda Finnerty, Communications Director
307-777-2053
linda.finnerty@wyo.gov
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