After weeks of preparation, the Staples We The People team placed second at the state-level competition on Jan. 24, earning them a wildcard spot at nationals in April.
During the competition, students participated in simulated congressional hearings in small teams. Teams were evaluated based on their understanding of a prompt, the Constitution itself and how they respond to on the spot questions.
“The hearings are 11 minutes long, with the students reading their prepared responses for four of the 11 minutes, followed by seven minutes of questioning,” Sienna Schwartz ’27 said. “Questioning is when contestants can be asked anything by the judges pertaining to their unit or their prepared response.”
Despite the close competition, Staples delivered top-scoring performances. Mehmet Madigan ’27, Chloe Beitel ’27, Lauren Potter ’27 and Leo Viner ’27 received the highest score out of all competing teams for their assigned unit.
“It was incredibly rewarding to see our hard work and preparation pay off in real time.” Beitel said. “While I can’t speak for everyone on my team, I am extremely proud of how the competition went, and I believe our effort was clearly reflected in our scores at States.”
This is the second year in a row where Staples has received a wildcard and gotten the opportunity to go to nationals without securing a state level win.
“Staples got into the top 10 nationally as the wildcard last year.” Madigan said. “We are hoping to rerun that and be just as successful this year.”
With nationals coming up in the spring, students are revising their prepared responses and making edits to thrive at nationals.
“We are meeting extensively with our units, as well as outside experts to develop our three responses,” Stella DiGeronimo ’27 said. “Once those responses are finalized, we will begin mock questioning sessions not only with each unit but also with members of the broader community.”
