Plainfield 7th Grader Heads To National Civics Bee

PLAINFIELD, IL — A Plainfield student will represent Illinois in the National Civics Bee in November.

Aisha Chavda, a seventh grader at Timber Ridge Middle School, won the Illinois State Civics Bee in Springfield on July 7 — plus $1,000 — to advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C. She started by winning the local civics bee in May, earning a trip to the state competition and $500.

"I didn't think competing would stretch this far; I thought it would be a little thing," Chavda said, per a news release from Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202. "And to say I won it, and now I'm going to Washington — it's really crazy."

Chavda was one of 14 students from Illinois who competed for a chance to go to Washington, where sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students will vie in the National Civics Bee. They participated in two rounds of multiple-choice questions about civics, and the top five students advanced to the final round, where they gave a three-minute pitch on their civics essay and answered questions from judges. Chavda's essay was about cyberbullying.

"We are proud and impressed with Aisha; she truly deserved to win first place," said Jill Vancil, business services coordinator for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, who managed the bee for Illinois.

The national bee organization gives contestants a study guide that covers civics from the founding of the United States to the 2000s, according to the release. Chavda's family is helping her study.

"I'll be disappointed if I lose, but I got this far, and I can always try again next year," she said.