NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: January 14, 2025
Two Mississippi students selected for United States Senate Youth Program
JACKSON, Miss. – The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) has announced that two Mississippi high school students from Gulfport – Shayleen Moeini of St. Patrick Catholic High School and Jackson Pearce of Gulfport High School – will join Sen. Roger F. Wicker and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in representing Mississippi during the 63rd Annual USSYP Washington Week March 1 -8.
Both students were selected from among the state’s top student leaders to be part of the 104 national student delegation that will attend meetings and briefings with senators, the President, a justice of the Supreme Court, leaders of cabinet agencies, and other officials throughout the week. Each delegate will also receive a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate study.
The USSYP was founded in 1962 by the sons of William Randolph Hearst and the Senate leadership of the day – Senators Kuchel, Mansfield, Dirksen and Humphrey – in response to the deep divisiveness and national anxiety following the McCarthy era. They outlined a plan to encourage America’s most talented young people to consider public service as an important, life-long, and noble pursuit, sponsoring Senate Resolution 324, which passed unanimously. As stated in founding testimony, the program strives “to increase young Americans’ understanding of the interrelationships of the three branches of government, learn the caliber and responsibilities of federally elected and appointed officials, and emphasize the vital importance of democratic decision making not only for America but for people around the world.”
Each year this extremely competitive merit-based program provides two outstanding high school students from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity with an intensive week-long study of the federal government and the people who lead it. In addition to the $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship, each student will be encouraged to continue coursework in government, history and public affairs. The Hearst Foundations have fully funded the program since inception; as stipulated, no government funds are utilized. (United State Senate Resolution 324)
Shayleen Moeini, a senior at St. Patrick Catholic High School, serves as the president of the National Honor Society. She is also president of the National Foreign Language Honor Society, National Science Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and Students Against Violence Everywhere Club. In addition, she serves as vice president of Student Council, Gulfport Mayor’s Youth Council and Advisory Board, and Interact Club. She is passionate about research, particularly in expanding accommodations for students with psychological disabilities. Shayleen has been named an International Science and Engineering Fair finalist twice as well as a first-place winner at the regional and state Mississippi science fairs. Her research has garnered the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award, the Rochester Institute of Technology Women in STEM Award, and the American Psychological Association Research Award. Through her writings on democracy, she has received first place awards in 2022 and 2023 from essays written for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. She attended the Trent Lott Leadership Institute and the Hugh O-Brian Youth Leadership Seminar, earning a scholarship to the World Leadership Congress as a Mississippi delegate. In 2024, she received National Rural and Small Town Recognition, National First-Generation Recognition, and the AP Scholar Award. With over 400 service hours, she is an avid volunteer with the Tim Tebow Foundation, St. James Elementary School, Gulfport Women’s Resource Center, and American Red Cross. Shayleen plans to study biology and policy at Columbia University, combining her passions for medicine, leadership, and advocacy.
Jackson Pearce, a senior at Gulfport High School, serves as a representative on the Mississippi Department of Education Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. He is also president of Youth Legislature and Model UN, horn sergeant of the Admiral Band, captain of the Quiz Bowl, vice president of the Interact Club, and treasurer of Mu Alpha Theta. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Key Club, Interact Club, Civil Air Patrol, Gulfport Mayor’s Youth Council and Saint James Youth. Throughout high school, Jackson has maintained all-A honor roll and received numerous academic awards, including the Woodmen Life American History Award. He has received the Outstanding Representative, Conference Leadership, and Most Outstanding Statesman awards at LEAD MS Youth Legislature, in addition to the Most Improved Delegate award at MSU Model UN. He has participated in the Trent Lott Leadership Institute, Coast Electric Youth Leadership Program, and Boys State, and served as a page for the Mississippi House of Representatives. Additionally, Jackson placed in the Mississippi All-State Concert Band on French Horn for two years, including placing 3rd chair. He is involved in numerous service-related organizations and volunteers to better his community by assisting with concerts, competitions, food drives, concessions, fly-ins, camps, wreath laying ceremonies, disaster relief efforts, and mentoring programs. In the future, Jackson plans to double major in aerospace engineering and public policy at the University of Alabama or major in public policy at Yale University.
Chosen as alternates to the 2025 program were Braden lsiac Overby, of Mendenhall, who attends Simpson County Academy, and Lindan Lockhart Garner, of Madison, who attends Jackson Preparatory School.
For more information, visit ussenateyouth.org. Find all MDE news releases at mdek12.org/news.
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Jean Cook, APR
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jcook@mdek12.org
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