Mr. Weiss is Going to Washington

Long Beach High School senior Ben Weiss was named one of the two New York State student delegates to the 49^th Annual United States Senate Youth Program’s Washington Week.

Weiss will head to the nation’s capital on March 5 and during that week will meet with the Senate co-chairs and other Senate leaders, the secretary of the Senate, the Senate parliamentarian and Senate historian, the President of the United States, a justice of the Supreme Court, members of the House of Representatives, officials from the Departments of State and Defense and other executive agencies, a foreign ambassador to the U.S., and senior members of the media. The Department of Defense will provide a team of selected military officers to accompany him and his fellow delegates throughout the program.

To qualify for this honor, students must hold student body office or another elected or appointed position in their communities and show academic interest and aptitude in government, history and politics. The program is merit-based and highly competitive. All delegates are awarded a $5,000 scholarship to encourage them to continue their studies in government and history.

Weiss was named a National Merit Commended Student and an AP Scholar with Honor. He was also selected to represent Long Beach High School at the Nassau County Executive’s Youth Council, and was one of two youth representatives in the county selected to the Nassau County Youth Board. During his years at Long Beach High School, Ben has served as editor-in-chief of his school’s award-winning literary magazine Fragments, which this year earned gold medals in two prestigious national competitions. He is active in the science research program, where he has accumulated numerous honors. A member of the varsity lacrosse, soccer and winter track teams, he is also active in Athletes Helping Athletes.