First Nebraska civics bee champion crowned, will head to Washington, D.C. for national competition

For the first time, Nebraska will send a representative to the National Civics Bee as the country celebrates its 250th anniversary.

Mya Bernal, who recently finished eighth grade at Grand Island Public Schools, won the inaugural state competition and will have the chance to compete at the national level for a $100,000 529 college savings plan in the fall.

“It's so crazy,” Bernal said. “I literally remember being told that we were going to do this in social studies. My social studies teacher looked at me, and he said, ‘I think some people in this classroom could make it to D.C.,’ and I was like, there's no way that he's looking at me right now.”

The state competition, which was put on by the Nebraska Chamber Foundation, had three rounds. The first two rounds included 20 multiple choice questions about various historical documents, court cases and civics concepts.

In the final round, the top five students gave short pitches about the essays they submitted on improving a problem in their community. Bernal wrote about the Tyson Plant closure after she visited Lexington in December.

“Things were really starting to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, the Tyson plant is actually closing,’” Bernal said. “Around two weeks later, during the first day back from winter break, my social studies teacher said we're going to be writing an essay about a problem we see in our community. I thought, ‘Wow, this is something really positive I could use my voice for.’”

In her essay, Bernal said she wanted to bring awareness to the closure and host job fairs for those impacted. Other topics included student mental health, impacts of flooding and the childcare crisis.

Tara Lea, executive vice president of partnerships and programs for the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said more than 500 students submitted essays across Nebraska, making the state fifth in the nation for participation and first per capita.

“We had no idea what to expect when we signed up to do this,” Lea said. “We were just excited all 50 states were doing it. We were proud to be one of them, but Nebraska showed up.”

Lea said they hope to double the amount of local competitions next year. Before the state bee, students competed in one of six regional bees across the state. She added it would be great to have the essay as part of the state curriculum in some way.

“Civics knowledge is so, so important,” Lea said. “I think it's something we don't think a lot about or talk a lot about because it can be controversial. These students are seeing they can make an impact, and they can do a lot of great things within their community.”

First place for the state competition won $1,000 and a potential $5,000 donation to their school. Second and third place also won cash prizes, and all 17 students got to keep the tablets they used to answer questions on.

Bernal said she’s excited to represent Nebraska in Washington, D.C. and visit the state capitol, especially since she wasn’t able to go for her eighth grade trip. Her advice to other students her age is to bet on themselves and never give up.

“As much as you think it's impossible, I'm here doing this now, and all I did was write an essay about something I feel strongly about,” Bernal said. “It's not impossible. It's quite achievable if you put your mind to it.”

This article was updated to correct the number of students participating in the bee and that the Nebraska Chamber Foundation put on the competition, not the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry.