Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) selected 18 students from Rockwall County to participate in his newly launched Congressional Student Leadership Program (CSLP). The students join 86 total high schoolers from across the 18 counties in Texas’ 4th District who are participating in the CSLP for the 2016-2017 school year.
The Rockwall County students participating are: Ariana Adkins-Mills, Caleigh Demien, Eric Harbin, Lauren Tiller, Madison James, Michael Duvall, and William Harbin from Rockwall High School; Avery Dalfrey, Brett Ross, Christian Giadolor, Hayden Ray, Jacob Oxford, Jordan Pabian, Karissa Smith, Katherine Dunbar, Madelaine Petrosky, and Tony Maglisceau from Rockwall-Heath High School.
The CSLP students gathered for their first-ever meeting Wednesday in three physical locations: Sherman, Rockwall and Texarkana, using Internet streaming to connect together. To kick off the meeting, Ratcliffe streamed in from Washington for an introduction. The remainder of the meeting focused on the functions of the federal government as defined by the U.S. Constitution, laying the foundation for the in-depth policy discussions planned for the remainder of the school year.
“I’m inspired by the high level of interest in our political system demonstrated by the 86 students who took initiative to participate in this program,” Ratcliffe said. “The students all bring diverse talents and perspectives to the table, which makes me confident about the positive impact they’ll have on the future of our country.”
There will be three more CSLP meetings in the 2016-2017 school year, as well as a district-wide service project aimed at helping local veterans in November.
The CSLP aims to teach high school students in Texas’ 4th District about the role of the federal government and functions of a congressional office while allowing them to engage with their congressman and discuss public policy issues affecting our country. Participants are selected based on their academic achievement, extracurricular involvement and demonstration of leadership. Applications 2017-2018 school year will be available in Spring 2017.
Further details on the CSLP are available online at: ratcliffe.house.gov/congressional-student-leadership-program.
