Mr. Cobb goes to Washington
Hewitt-Trussville High School’s snow day in December brought more than just a surprise day off for senior Logan Cobb –– it also brought his acceptance letter to the U.S. Senate Youth Program.
“It was snowing outside, and I was shocked. I didn’t believe it for 30 minutes. It took me an hour to fully process it,” Cobb said.
This was his second year to apply to the program, which offers a weeklong program to meet with national leaders and see how the federal government works, up close and in person. Two students were chosen from each state and the District of Columbia to participate in Washington Week this month. Cobb’s Alabama counterpart is a student from Demopolis High School.
The 17-year-old Trussville resident is a member of the school’s chamber choir, a clarinetist in the marching band, an actor in high school and community theater, a scholars bowl team member and a senior senator in the HTHS Student Council. He keeps up with politics and government news and said he wants to be involved in activism and nonprofit work, particularly protecting the environment.
“It’s so beautiful around Trussville, and protecting our watersheds [is important],” Cobb said.
That environmental interest was part of Cobb’s USSYP application and interview before being selected.
“They liked me and what I had to say, and I think that really helped me,” Cobb said.
Being a student delegate in USSYP means Cobb will earn a $10,000 scholarship after attending Washington Week. He plans to go to UAB to study music and political science, as well as minor in environmental science.
The all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., will include the chance to hear policy addresses from senators, cabinet members, federal agency directors, officials from the Departments of State and Defense, military members and media representatives. Cobb and the 99 other delegates will get to meet junior and senior senators from both parties, meet members of the U.S. Supreme Court and attend a meeting with the president.
Cobb said he’s looking forward to having a “direct access point” to federal decision-makers who he has previously only known as a name or a face on TV.
“You don’t meet them, you just see them on the news,” Cobb said. “But I’ll actually have a chance to meet them and possibly bring something back to the community to talk about.”
He said being young or from a state with a smaller population like Alabama can sometimes make people “kind of feel far away from the government, kind of feel like it doesn’t represent their interests,” but programs like the USSYP can bridge that disconnect.
The trip will also include a chance to tour part of D.C., and Cobb said he’s hoping to see some of the Smithsonian museums.
“That’ll probably be the other highlight of my trip,” Cobb said.
Since he was selected in December, Cobb said his luggage has been sitting in the hallway as a constant reminder that the trip is coming up. He has also been watching the news more closely “just so I can be better informed and learn more, by knowing more going into it.”
“It’s super exciting. I’m still trying to focus on my AP classes and stuff, but it is really exciting,” Cobb said.
The U.S. Senate Youth Program’s Washington Week will be March 3-10. Learn more about the program at ussenateyouth.org.