Jordan Cozby, a junior at Bob Jones, attended the United States Senate Youth Program, a program which takes two students from each state to the nation’s capital to explore the possibility of a career in public service and government. Jordan is the second student from the Bob to be selected for this opportunity, the first being Kyle Campbell, Class of 2014. The USSYP is a 53 year old tradition, established by the Senate in 1962. Alongside the experience, the delegates also receive a $5,000 college scholarship. Two alumnus of the program include Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Cory Gardner (R-Colorado).

Jordan stated, “The experience has been incredible. The most rewarding aspect of USSYP has been getting to know and learning from students around the nation.”

The participants have had the privilege of meeting many of famous faces of politics, such as the Swedish Ambassador to the U.S. Bjorn Lyrvall, who educated the delegates on the history of the relationship between the U.S. and Sweden. At the Senate Reception, Cozby and fellow Alabama delegate Matt Tindal got the opportunity to meet Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama. The delegates even got the opportunity to meet President Obama, who gave a speech encouraging the students to be optimistic about the future. The last day of the program included meeting Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer inside the Court itself. Breyer spoke about his method of interpreting the founding documents and why they were crafted how they were.

Along with these speakers, the participants also toured the many famous monuments and sites in the area. On the second day of the trip, they visited Mount Vernon and even took part in a wreath-laying ceremony. Other notable sights included the Korean War memorial, the Vietnam Wall, and Arlington National Cemetery. Jordan called the memorials “very powerful,” especially the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown at the National Cemetery.

Jordan mentioned “My favorite parts were listening to the President, whose main message to us was ‘Don’t worry about what you want to be, worry about what you want to do.’”