RECOGNITION

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altRECOGNITION – Samuel Ackerman, of Cumberland, is one of two Rhode Island students who have been selected as delegates to the 52nd annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) held this month in Washington, D.C. Each year this competitive merit-based program brings 104 of the most outstanding high school students to Washington, D.C. for an intensive week-long study of the federal government and the people who lead it. In addition to the program week, The Hearst Foundations provide each of the 104 student delegates with a $5,000 undergraduate college scholarship with encouragement to continue coursework in government, history and public affairs.

Ackerman, son of Rep. Mia Ackerman (D), attends Cumberland High School and currently serves as a Rhode Island State Senate page. During his tenure as a page, Sam wrote legislation that would have Rhode Island formally ratify the seventeenth amendment. He is the founder and president of the Rhode Island High School Democrats. He has participated in the Yale Young Global Scholars Program, and spends time tutoring fellow students in biology and U.S. History. He volunteers for his town’s Youth Commission and the Rhode Island Democratic Party. Sam participates in parliamentary debate and the Future Business Leaders of America, and holds titles of state champion in both.