Cage Sawyers, a senior at Van Alstyne High School who is interested in politics, applied for the Congressional Student Leadership Program (CSLP) after seeing it in a newsletter. When asked what he hoped to gain from being in the program, Sawyers said that he wanted to “connect with constituents and learn more about what the 4th Congressional District of Texas needs.” Van Alstyne High School sophomore, Abby Hill said that her mom told her about the program and she was interested. She hopes to learn more about how the government works and is “trying to stay connected with everything going on.” Samuel Mosby, also a sophomore at Van Alstyne High School interned for Rep. Ratcliffe’s Sherman office before participating in the CSLP. He hopes to gain more leadership experience and is looking forward to working more with the other participants. “It is a great group, everyone is very intelligent,” he said. Sophomore Reggie Smith is also enjoying the opportunity to participate. “I hope to get a better understanding of the whole political system,” he said.
The students participating in the CSLP met for the first time on September 21 and will have three more meetings throughout the school year. Mosby said that for their next meeting, Rep. Ratcliffe is expected to make an appearance and meet with them. Though they have only had one meeting, they are already beginning to work on projects. Hill said that they were tasked with creating a 10 minute presentation on an issue facing the country that needs to be addressed. “My group chose to discuss child trafficking,” she said, “it is an important issue that doesn’t always get the attention it needs.” Hill said that she enjoyed the opportunity to discuss current topics that don’t always get addressed in school.
When asked about what their plans were after high school, the Van Alstyne High School CSLP participants have big aspirations. Sawyers, the only senior from the Van Alstyne group, said that he is applying to several schools including TCU and Yale and plans to major in Healthcare Administration. Hill said that she isn’t sure exactly where she wants to go, but she is interested in Psychology and potentially attending Law School. Chemical Engineering at West Point is the goal for Mosby. And Smith is undecided about exactly what he plans to major in, but as a sophomore, has plenty of time to decide.
All agreed that they would like to see other Van Alstyne High School students get involved next year.
For more information on the Congressional Student Leadership Program and Congressman Ratcliffe, visit his webpage at: www.ratcliffe.house.gov
Pictured are (top to bottom): Samuel Mosby, Abby Hill, Cage Sawyers, and Reggie Smith