AIKEN -- The winner of the Aiken Chamber of Commerce's inaugural National Civics Bee Regional Competition was a student who traveled 2 hours to participate.
Riley Metcalfe, an eighth grader from Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, S.C., walked away with the first place title on April 30.
The competition was divided into three rounds. In the first two, students answered multiple choice civics questions.
Each student had to write an essay on a topic of their choosing in order to participate, and in the final round, the top 5 competitors answered a panel of judges' questions about their essay.
Metcalfe's essay focused on "The Digital Divide."
"In Greenville, South Carolina, 50% of low income families lack adequate access to high speed internet, broadband and technology devices," Metcalfe said, summarizing her essay topic before the panel of judges. "This digital divide not only hinders education and work but acts as a barrier to civic education and voting participation."
Metcalfe was followed by Annsley W. from Highland Springs Middle School in 3rd place and Emma T. from Mauldin Middle School in Greenville, SC, in 2nd place.
According to the U.S. Chamber Foundation, the top 3 winners from each regional competition advance to the State Finals, taking place from early June through July.
One finalist from each state receives a trip to the National Championship; details for the location and date of this year's championship have not yet been announced.
Metcalfe said her interest in civics began when she took a U.S. History course in 7th grade as well as a Government and Civics class this year in 8th grade.
She also said she has participated in debate and mock trial courses online which further sparked her love for the discipline.
"I had never even heard of a Civics Bee, so this is a totally new experience," she said. "It was a lot less formal than I expected. It was challenging, but it was a very supportive environment and everyone was very kind and provided a lot."
"The most challenging moment was public speaking, when they asked me to summarize my entire essay...when you have to speak in front of an audience, it's a little harder," she added.
Metcalfe believes everyone should get involved in civics.
"Civics is a part of being a citizen of the United States," she said. "You don't have to do anything like this, but just learning about it is your responsibility as a citizen of the United States. Civics can put into perspective everything around you and all the government and what's happening."
Whitney Goodwin, Director of Communications with the Chamber, shared the experience of organizing the event.
"It was really emotional because it's our first year doing this event," she said. "Being involved from start to finish and not knowing how many students would even submit essays. By the end, we had almost 200. So to see the involvement from the students and the excitement from the parents when I made the phone call that their students made the regional competition, just hearing the excitement in their voice was really cool and it gave me a lot of hope for the future of Aiken."
"I think, especially for our youth to be involved in civics, it really shows pride in their community," she added."They are our future."
All student participants in the Civics Bee included Adam T. from New Ellenton MIddle STEAM Magnet School, Dilichukwu A. from Minnie B. Kennedy Middle School, Barton H. from Minnie B. Kennedy Middle School, Carson F. from Minnie B. Kennedy Middle School, Chris B. from Minnie B. Kennedy Middle School, Emma T. from Mauldin Middle School in Greenville, SC, Anastasia K. from Minnie B. Kennedy Middle School, Ashanti H. from Minnie B. Kennedy Middle School, Annsley W. from Highland Spring Middle School, Gabrielle V. from Minnie B. Kennedy Middle School, Jionni W. from New Ellenton Middle STEAM Magnet School, Mackenzie G. from Minnie B. Kennedy Middle School, Parker B. from New Ellenton Middle STEAM Magnet School, Riley M. from Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, SC and Skylar J. from Highland Springs Middle School.