Dear High School Principals, Counselors, and Scholarship Coordinators:

2021 United States Senate Youth Program

I am pleased to announce the 59th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP). Sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the California Department of Education (CDE) coordinates this competition for outstanding juniors or seniors who are interested in pursuing careers in public service. All public and private high schools in the state are invited to nominate up to two juniors or seniors to participate.

Two students from each state will be selected to attend the online program, and each student will receive a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship. The USSYP Washington Week will be held ONLINE from March 14–18, 2021. Four finalists, consisting of two delegates and a first alternate and second alternate, will be selected by the CDE to be California’s USSYP representatives.

Students must be nominated by their high school principal and must be currently serving in an elected or appointed leadership capacity in a student government, civic, or educational organization for the entire 2020–21 school year. If students are unable to hold leadership positions this year due to the pandemic, they can submit the position they held during the 2019–2020 academic year. In addition, nominated students must be permanent residents of the United States and currently enrolled in a California public or private secondary school.

The application and scholarship information on the 2021 USSYP may be found on the CDE USSYP web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/us/. The deadline to apply is Friday, December 18, 2020.

If you have any questions regarding the USSYP, please send an email to ussyp@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond
State Superintendent of Public Instruction