At the National Civics Bee held last week in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania’s own Mariya Hoja – a Fairview High School student representing Pennsylvania and her home county of Erie – was among the top ten finalists in the national competition where she shared her award-winning essay about combating Lake Erie’s algal blooms. Mariya achieved this after making it through a challenging, impressive first round of trivia questions related to American history, democracy, and our national system of laws and checks and balances. Way to go, Mariya!
The PA Chamber team was on hand – both in-person and online – to cheer Mariya on during the competition, just as we did for her and other civic-minded students in June when they competed in the National Civics Bee Pennsylvania State Finals in Harrisburg. The PA Chamber Foundation is proud to partner with the U.S. Chamber Foundation and local chambers of commerce across Pennsylvania in hosting this statewide competition, which aims to promote young Americans’ knowledge of civics and engagement in their communities. Over the last two years, the program has grown significantly in every region of the Commonwealth, due to the passion it builds among young people and increased partnership among PA Chamber member organizations.
It was recently announced that Lt. Governor Austin Davis will be joining PA Chamber President and CEO Luke Bernstein in co-chairing the 2025 National Civics Bee Pennsylvania State Finals for 2025! The application portal is now open for middle school students to compete in the National Civics Bee by submitting an essay. All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in the Commonwealth are eligible to apply and will be automatically matched with the local chamber competition closest to them. The application deadline is February 4, 2025. Students can apply through the website here.
Local civics bee finalists will advance to the Pennsylvania State Finals on Friday, June 13, 2025, at the HUB-Robeson Center on the campus of Penn State University in State College, PA.