Two Mississippi high school students have been selected to join Senator Roger F. Wicker and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in representing the Magnolia state during the 62nd annual USSYP Washington Week.
Madison native Katherine Farthing and Iris Xue of Southaven were released as ranking the state’s top student leaders to be part of the 104 national student delegation, with each set to receive a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate study.
The USSYP, or United States Senate Youth Program, was created “to increase young Americans’ understanding of the interrelationships of the three branches of government, learn the caliber and responsibilities of federally elected and appointed officials, and emphasize the vital importance of democratic decision making not only for America but for people around the world.”
Each year, the merit-based program provides high school students – two from each state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity – with an intensive week-long study of the federal government and the people who lead it.
Now, Mississippi’s two delegates are anticipated to participate in the week-long program in Washington, D.C. from March 2-9, 2024. During the program week, the student delegates will attend meetings and briefings with senators, the president, a justice of the Supreme Court, and leaders of cabinet agencies, among others.
Farthing, a senior at Madison Central High School, currently holds the position as president of the National Honor Society while serving as Government Club co-president and Interact Club treasurer at her school.
She is a member of 10 clubs, including Advocates for Change, Women’s Empowerment Club, Upstanders Club, the Mathematics Honor Society Mu Alpha Theta, and more.
At this time, Farthing plans to study public policy and international relations in college and pursue a career in foreign service or in the medical field.
Xue, a senior at The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS), serves as the president of the French Honor Society and as a student ambassador to the Mississippi Secretary of State and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
She is also the editor-in-chief of her school’s newspaper, The Vision, captain of the varsity tennis team, and tournament chair and Calculus Department Committee head of Mu Alpha Theta.
The Southaven student plans to study economics and government in college and aspires to positively impact economic development initiatives at the state and national levels.
Chosen as alternates to the 2024 program were Charles Mitchell Frugé, a resident of Oxford, who attends Oxford High School, and Evelyn Anne O’Gwynn, a resident of Brandon, who attends Northwest Rankin High School.
This year’s Mississippi delegates and alternates were designated by Dr. Raymond Morgigno, Interim State Superintendent of Education.
