Students preparing for national competition

MARQUETTE — A group of 23 Marquette Senior High School students are headed to Washington D.C. next month for the 30th Annual ‘We the People’ competition.

The students finished in second place at the state finals in Lansing in January. At the national finals, students will participate in simulated congressional hearings, testifying as constitutional experts before a panel of judges.

MSHS instructor Fred Cole calls ‘We the People’ one of the best learning experiences students can have.

“It’s fantastic. This is a lot of real-life application of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and it’s in a great setting. We’ll be discussing it right in Washington D.C.,” said Cole. “It’s an outstanding opportunity.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing the center of our government, what’s going on there and where everything is, said Aster Michelsen, a senior at MSHS. “I hope that we can do this more in the future and set the precedent for continuing to go to D.C.”

This will be the first time a U.P. school has sent a team to the national competition. The competition takes place April 21st through the 24th.

The cost for the trip is $1,500 per student. If you would like to donate to the trip, a link to all that information can be found by clicking HERE.