On January 9, 2020, the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) announced that Storm King School senior Pierce Pramuka will join Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand in representing New York in the nation’s capital during the 58th annual USSYP Washington Week, to be held March 7–14, 2020. Pierce was selected from among the state’s top student leaders to be part of the 104 national student delegation who will also each receive a $10,000 college scholarship provided by the Hearst Foundations for undergraduate study at the college of their choice.

Each year this extremely competitive merit-based program brings 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. In addition to outstanding leadership abilities and a strong commitment to volunteer work, the student delegates rank academically in the top one percent of their states among high school juniors and seniors.

While in Washington, Pierce and the other student delegates will attend meetings and briefings with President Donald Trump, senators, members of the House of Representatives, Congressional staff, a justice of the Supreme Court, members of the cabinet, an ambassador to the United States, and senior members of the national media.

“I’m very excited to participate in the program. I can’t wait to meet our government’s top leaders and see them in action. I’m also looking forward to meeting and working with the other student delegates from around the country; we’ve already started talking to each other online. Having these lasting contacts as an [USSYP] alumnus will be great for networking both now and in the future,” Pierce explains.

Now more than 5,700 strong, alumni of the USSYP continue to excel and develop impressive qualities that are often directed toward public service. Among the many distinguished alumni are: Senator Susan Collins, the first alumnus to be elected U.S. senator; Senator Cory Gardner, the second alumnus to be elected U.S. senator and the first to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives; former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the first alumnus to be elected governor; former Chief Judge Robert Henry, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; former Ambassador to West Germany Richard Burt, former presidential advisors Thomas “Mack” McLarty and Karl Rove, and Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana currently a candidate for president of the United States. Additional notables include former Lt. Governor of Idaho David Leroy, Provost of Wake Forest University Rogan Kersh, military officers, members of state legislatures, Foreign Service officers, top congressional staff, healthcare providers and other university educators. 

Working toward his future aspirations as a public servant, Pierce was appointed as a United States Senate page by Senator Charles Schumer in 2018 and has also worked as a campaign intern for New York State Senator James Skoufis, and as a congressional intern for U.S. Representative Sean Patrick Maloney. Known at SKS for his active participation as a student leader on campus, Pierce currently serves as the president of the Senior Class, captains the Model UN team, and has completed over 250 hours of local community service during his five years at Storm King.

“I plan to study international relations and I’m interested in a future career as a public servant, so meeting with so many well-known politicians and public servants will be an eye-opening experience,” continues Pierce. I am also happy that we will be chaperoned by military officers, one officer to five student delegates. Since I plan to participate in the Air Force ROTC program next year in college, I hope to get some good advice from them.”

Congratulations to Pierce on being chosen for this honor. Everyone in the Storm King community wishes him safe travels and continued success!