Centre County students are abuzz with skills and knowledge at National Civics Bee

Twenty Centre County students gathered to show off their knowledge and passion in a National Civics Bee competition on Monday.

The Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County hosted the competition, one of six chambers of commerce groups around Pennsylvania participating. The competition is part of a push by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to get students across the country interested in civic engagement.

This year, Pennsylvania was chosen as one of nine states to compete in the National Civics Bee to help promote civic learning and engagement in communities across the state. Students in grades 6-8 across Centre County were asked to submit essays explaining how they would solve a local civic problem. Twenty were chosen to compete in two rounds of multiple-choice questions on constitutional amendments, branches of government and more.

Five finalists spoke about their local civic engagement essays to a panel of judges, including state Rep. Paul Takac, state Sen. Cris Dush and U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson. Students argued for stricter vaping and nicotine regulations, better local road improvement and against the proposed casino in Nittany Mall.

Katie Tyworth, an eighth grader at Mount Nittany Middle School, won first place and a $1,000 prize. Tyworth, who surveyed neighbors to understand community opinions on the proposed casino in Nittany Mall, said she never expected to get so far in the local competitions, much less win.

“It was really stressful, but it was really fun,” she said. “I got to learn a lot and I got to kind of go out of my comfort zone a little bit.”

Thompson said he was glad to see a renewed push for civics education and students’ dedication to local civic programs and issues.

“It’s a part of citizenship and we’ve kind of lost that when you look at social media communication, people getting their news from Twitter, and engaging in more of an anonymous way,” Thompson said. “This is up close and personal what these students were doing. I’m real proud of each and every one of them.”

Tyworth, second-place winner Sol Lee and third-place winner Starlyn Gearhart will all compete at the statewide civics bee in Harrisburg.

“I’m really excited, but it’s gonna be stressful because it’s a really high bar,” Lee, who is also in eighth grade at Mount Nittany Middle School, said.

Check out more photos from the bee: