For Immediate Release: Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Councilmember Craig Rice Selects Finalists for
Councilmember for a Day Challenge
Winner will be selected on Nov. 29 at Council Youth Town Hall meeting
ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 11, 2017—Montgomery County Councilmember Craig Rice has selected ten Montgomery County Public School students as finalists for his “Councilmember for a Day” challenge. The winner of this challenge will be selected at a reception at 6 p.m. on Nov. 29 immediately before the Council’s Youth Town Hall meeting, which will take place the same evening beginning at 7 p.m. at the Montgomery County Council Building, which is located at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The winning student will receive an award, participate in a Council meeting, and shadow Councilmember Rice for a full Council day. Councilmember Rice, who chairs the Council’s Education Committee, developed the “Councilmember for a Day” challenge as a way for young people to become more involved in public policy issues and to learn about local government.
All finalists will be recognized at the Council’s Nov. 29 Youth Town Hall meeting, and one student will be selected as the 2017 honorary “Councilmember for a Day.”
This is the second year for the “Councilmember for a Day” challenge. Councilmember Rice asked eighth grade students and high school students to submit YouTube videos (of two minutes or less) or written essays (500 words or less) addressing the following:
“The response from students and teachers to the inaugural ‘Councilmember for a Day’ challenge was extremely positive, so I decided to expand the challenge to include eighth grade students this year,” said Councilmember Rice. “The earlier we can get our students interested in public policy issues, the brighter the future will be for all of us.”
Outreach for the contest was conducted through social media and in partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools. Councilmember Rice’s office received nearly 100 entries from students. The ten finalists were selected based on the quality and creativity of their entries.
The 2017 finalists include:
“Communication is a two-way street. I am always looking for creative ways to empower young people to become more involved in government and to provide experiential learning for students,” said Councilmember Rice. “The ‘Councilmember for a Day’ challenge is a fun and educational way to get young people excited about government, and for local leaders to learn how we can do a better job of reaching students.”
Councilmember Rice’s video segment inviting students to participate in the challenge and recapping the experience of the 2016 “Councilmember for a Day,” Angela Wu can be viewed at:
https://youtu.be/uvvh5Lk11HE .
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Release ID: 17-314