KVNU Show a Great Success!

We The People just finished our first radio appearance, it was tons of fun and I hope those that listened enjoyed it. Hopefully in the future we will be able to do some more radio appearances. Some interesting questions were asked and it was great to get the message out about We The People. A very special thanks Jason Williams and Tyler Riggs of KVNU's For The People! For anyone that wants to donate, is interested in our fundraisers, or just wants more information on We The People in general contact Miah at (435) 770-9477

Pictured here from left to right, Nathan Ricks, Miah Bowen, Ty Rupp, and Brynnly Pabst (we were the four that aired on KVNU).

We The People Bio - Jessica Swenson

Taking state was not a defining moment of my life. Memorable, definitely. But it was not this wholly crucial moment that I will look back on and say, “Wow! My life really changed there!”

I realized this as my unit joined hands when the announcer began telling us who’d won the individual units. Here we were, four kids who hadn’t really known each other at the beginning of the year. And now we were closer than spandex on a volleyball player, laughing together and working together like we’d been friends our whole lives. And when we took it, when we were announced the best Unit 4 in the state, all we could do was look at each other and grin. We are more than friends. We're a family.

A family part of a larger team. When the audience was told that the difference between second and first place was three measly points, our hand-holding spread to include the rest of the table. And when we took state, there was no other group of people in the world that I wanted to be on that stage with.

When I think of We the People, I don’t think of me. I think of us. In this program, I’ve found that amazement that comes from being just a part of the whole. It is all of our efforts, not just mine, that have earned us this trip to Washington D.C. for Nationals. It was so hard for me to not be wholly in control of my fate, but the trust I’ve given and the unity I’ve felt has been worth everything.

Though this program has greatly changed my course in life and shown me new interests, I find that my individual story, in the end, doesn’t really matter. What does matter are the stories of my unit and the stories of the team. The stories of twenty-nine high school students coming together to not only study the Constitution, but become passionate about it. It’s Gestalt psychology: “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts,” and that right there is what is important.

The State We the People competition was not a defining moment because it was just the culmination point. The hours working and learning, the inside jokes, and the fleeting seconds where I could actually feel my unit grow together are my significant moments. Those are the times I will look back on and say, “Wow. My life really changed there.”

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. - Marianne Williamson

Welcome to Sky View High School We the People Blog

We the People the Citizen and the Constitution High School Level Simulated Congressional Hearings is a federally sponsored program that works at elementary, middle, and high school levels. Those at the High School level have the opportunity to compete for district, state, and then national competitions. For the fourth year running, Sky View's team has taken the state title, meaning that the team proceeds onto the national level in Washington D.C.

We the People consists of each team with six units, at Sky View the units are anywhere from four to six members. Each unit has three "questions", each with a different focus. Prior to competing, each unit prepares four minute responses to each of their questions for presentation. At the competition, the judges will randomly choose one question to ask. At that point the unit presents the four minute response, then the judges ask six minutes on open questioning, relating to any aspect of the response.

Sky View is going to Washington D.C. on April 22 and return home on April 28, the funds required to attend the national convention are approximately $25,000. In order to help raise funds we are working on several fundraisers.