A middle school student from Fayette County has won the Georgia State Finals of the National Civics Bee and will advance to the national championship competition in Washington, D.C. this fall.
Kaden Jawwaad, a student at Bennett’s Mill Middle School, topped nearly two dozen participants in the state finals, earning a $1,000 prize. The competition was hosted last Friday by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce at the Carter Center.
Jackson Coleman, of Smokey Road Middle School in Coweta County, finished second, and a student representing Stallings Island Middle School in Columbia County, placed third.
This year marked the first time the Georgia Chamber has hosted the state finals of the National Civics Bee, an annual competition organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. The free event is open to middle school students in participating states and aims to inspire civic engagement and community involvement.
Kaden now has a chance to win the Civics Bee National Championship and take home the grand prize of $50,000.
Through civics, Kaden says he is learning in a “hands-on way” how to be involved in government and the importance of knowing individual rights.
“You need to know them, so no one can catch you by surprise, taking away your rights that you didn’t know that you have,” he said.
Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber, said Kaden is already a leader.
“Kaden is a true servant-hearted civic leader who will represent Georgia well in the Civics Bee National Championship,” he said. “Developing the next generation of engaged citizens is a critical part of the Georgia Chamber’s mission.”
Hilary Crow, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, said that the U.S. faces a civics crisis, with 70 percent of adults and nearly 80 percent of eighth-grade students unable to pass a civics quiz.
The Georgia finals featured three rounds, including multiple-choice questions and a Q&A session. Judges included business and political leaders such as Allen Fore, vice president, Public Affairs, Kinder Morgan (sponsor of the event); Terreta Rodgers, head of Community Affairs, Amazon; Leonte Benton, president, T. Dallas Smith & Company; State Rep. Houston Gaines; and State Sen. Sonya Halpern.
“Every student was remarkable,” Halpern said. “Their essays were fantastic; their delivery was great. Kaden stood out for his exuberance and presentation. He had well-thought-out answers to the questions that we posed, and he really understood the issue that he wanted to address.”
She continued: “I especially appreciated that he tied public transportation to getting people moving around and to the environment. This speaks to the coalition building you have to do if you’re ever going to do the solution.”
