WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators Joe Manchin III and Shelley Moore Capito recently announced the names of the two students who have been selected as delegates to the 54th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) that will be held March 5-12, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Arka Gupta, of Charleston, and Adrien Inman, of Martinsburg, were chosen from across the state to be part of the group of 104 student delegates who will attend the program's 54th annual Washington Week.
Each year this extremely competitive merit-based program brings 104 of the most outstanding high school students - two from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity - to Washington, D.C. for an intensive week-long study of the federal government and the people who lead it. The overall mission of the program is to help instill within each class of USSYP student delegates more profound knowledge of the American political process and a lifelong commitment to public service. In addition to the program week, The Hearst Foundations provide each student with a $5,000 undergraduate college scholarship with encouragement to continue coursework in government, history and public affairs. Transportation and all expenses for Washington Week are also provided by The Hearst Foundations; as stipulated in S.Res.324; no government funds are utilized.
Adrien Inman attends Spring Mills High School and serves as a representative to the Student Council. Serving in this capacity for two years, he leads by example, championing causes that help his fellow citizens. As a member of Rotary Interact, and in his positions of leadership, including captain of the varsity soccer team, Adrien has worked to bring people together as a team. Active in a wide variety of music, sports, theater, politics and community service activities, he has also been an exchange student in China. He plans to be a naval officer and work for the State Department.
While in Washington the student delegates attend meetings and briefings with senators, house representatives and congressional staff, the president, a justice of the Supreme Court, leaders of cabinet agencies, an ambassador to the United States and senior members of the national media. The students will also tour many of the national monuments and several museums and they will stay at the historic Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C.