Elish
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Paul Elish, a junior at Presque Isle High School, has been selected to participate in the 48th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) in Washington, D.C.
The USSYP was established in 1962. Since then, more than 4,300 students have participated in the leadership program which gives scholars the opportunity to observe the federal government in action.
“Mr. [Zach] Powers, my U.S. history teacher, had everyone in the class take a multiple choice test about civics and the government,” said Elish, 16, who serves as class secretary. “To qualify for this program, you have to be in a leadership position, so the two highest scorers were submitted to the Maine Department of Education and I was one of those people.
“The department took the top 10 scorers in the state and we had to go to Augusta where they had an interview process. There was an actual interview, some debate and speech writing,” he said. “The top two were then selected to participate in the United States Senate Youth Program. I’m pretty proud to be representing ‘The County.’”
Elish, the son of Walt and Therese Elish, learned he had been selected for the program Dec. 1.
“The school got certified mail, and it was a letter stating that I had been chosen,” he said. “I was very excited … astonished. I wasn’t really expecting it. I didn’t feel like I had done that well on the multiple choice test, so I’m not sure how I ended up in the top 10. It was pretty difficult and no one felt like they had done fantastic.”
Elish and fellow Maine delegate Karl Eliot Douin of Hollis will spend the week of March 6-13 in the nation’s capital.
While in Washington for the intensive week-long study of the federal government and the people who lead it, the students will attend meetings and briefings with Senate leadership, other senators and congressional staff; the president, a Justice of the Supreme Court, leaders of cabinet agencies, an ambassador to the United States and top members of the national media. The students will also tour many of the national monuments and several museums.
“Whether or not I’ll get to shake hands with President Obama I’m not sure, but we’ll at least be meeting him,” said Elish. “What I’m really looking forward to is that it’s beyond the typical tourist view of Washington, D.C. The last time I went was with my family and I was probably 7 or 8, and you were there, but you were also kind of outside of the inner workings of the government. With this program, you get a really close-up view of what’s going on at the federal level.
“It’s also going to be fun meeting the delegates from the other states. I’ll be missing a week of school, but it will be worth it,” he laughed. “I think this will help me determine if I want a career in public service. I think it will be neat to see how our country functions being that I’m an American and we value democracy, but we don’t necessarily know what it’s like at the highest level. That should be memorable.”
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was herself a delegate in the USSYP.
“I have the honor and privilege of being the first delegate to the United States Senate Youth Program ever elected to the U.S. Senate,” said Collins in a press release. “My commitment to public service was reinforced as a senior at Caribou High School when I was chosen as a USSYP delegate and traveled to Washington where I met Sen. Margaret Chase Smith.
“I am pleased Paul and Karl have been chosen to participate in this worthwhile program and look forward to meeting with them while they are in Washington, D.C.,” she said.
Elish said he’s always been interested in the political process, but isn’t sure how it will play into his future.
“I’m actually really interested in the history of politics, like American history, and I really like foreign policy,” he said. “If I were going into a government institution, I’d probably go into foreign affairs.”
In addition to the trip to Washington, D.C., all student delegates will receive a $5,000 college scholarship.
“I like American history, history in general, biology … especially botany, classical literature and music,” said Elish. “Those are my major interests and what I’m considering as far as college majors, and the scholarship will be a big help.”
Elish plays both the saxophone and piano and participates in jazz band and jazz choir. He also accompanies the fall musical production on the sax. His athletic endeavors at PIHS include track and field, soccer and skiing, and he is also on the debate team, math team, and is an active member of the Spanish Club.
LeRae Kinney, chair of the social studies department at PIHS, has attended the USSYP in the past and said Elish is going to have “the most amazing experience.”
“I was one of two teachers in the nation that got to go in 2006,” said Kinney. “A senator from two different states sponors the program each year, and that year happened to be Susan Collins (Maine) and Barrack Obama (Illinois). As a thank you to those states, two educators were chosen and I represented Maine.
“I actually had dinner with now President Obama while I was there. He had just announced his candidacy. I wasn’t responsible for any kids, but did everything that the students did and met the same people they did,” she said. “Paul is not only going to meet students from around the nation who are among our country’s elite, but he will never see Washington, D.C. like this again. He’ll really get to go behind the scenes.”
Kinney said she met the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, top advisers to the president, President Bush, and others.
“It was just unbelievable,” she said. “The access you have and the people you meet is amazing. One of the nights there was an open forum for the senators so I met Ted Kennedy and John Kerry … all of these senators that you see on TV and in the news and you get to meet them and shake their hands. We rode the tram between the Russell Senate Office Building and the Capitol and it’s just unbelievable. You get to go into the Senate and watch as it’s in progress which you normally wouldn’t get to do.
“Paul will be staying at the Mayflower which you can see the White House from. He’s going to have breakfast every morning in one of the rooms where one of the inaugural balls was held … it is first class, five-star treatment all the way,” said Kinney. “Paul has no idea what he’s in for. The $5,000 scholarship that he got is going to take second place to this … it’s that amazing.”
Since its inception, the program has been fully funded by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
