Schools
Berkeley Teen Wins $10,000 Scholarship, Trip To Washington
He is one of 2 California teens chosen for the honor.
BERKELEY, CA — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson Wednesday named two high school students from Berkeley and Pleasanton to represent California in the 56th annual U.S. Senate Youth Program.
Mackenzie Hawkins, a senior at Amador Valley High School, and Cole McCann-Phillips, a senior at Berkeley High School, were chosen for the program that allows selected students to get an in-depth view of the Senate
and federal government.
They will each receive a $10,000 scholarship and attend a one-week all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., from March 3-10.
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Hawkins serves as her school's Associated Student Body vice present, tutors low-income elementary school students, teaches people with special needs how to swim and is a Spanish-English translator for families
shopping at a local Kohl's department store, state education officials said.
McCann-Phillips is a governmental affairs policy director for the California Association of Student Councils and sits on the Berkeley High School Site Council and its Student Senate.
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He has served as a student advisor to the state Legislature, the State Board of Education, and interned for Tony Thurmond's state Superintendent of Public Instruction campaign, state education officials said.
"I applaud these amazing students who have demonstrated remarkable leadership skills and serve their schools and communities with passion," Torlakson said in a statement.
— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock
