A Naperville teen will represent Illinois in this year’s National Civics Bee after placing first at the state competition late last month.
Astha Savalia, who recently completed eighth grade at Kennedy Junior High in Naperville School District 203, beat 14 other qualifiers from across the state to become the Illinois champion during the July 31 contest in Springfield.
Astha’s younger sister, incoming seventh-grader Reva Savalia, also competed at state and made it to a tiebreaker round before being eliminated before the contest’s final stage.
Now it’s time to study up for Astha, who said she’s excited to prepare for Nationals coming up in November in Washington, D.C.
“I want to cover some of the parts I haven’t been acing,” Astha said. “I got two questions wrong in the last competition — I want to look into those and see what topic I haven’t studied enough.”
Civics Bee challenges students to gain knowledge, confidence
The National Civics Bee challenges students in sixth through eighth grades to “gain knowledge about American democracy, practice engaging respectfully and constructively, and build trust in others and institutions,” according to the National Civics Bee website.
The competition is sponsored by The Civic Trust, a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. At the regional and state levels, participants start each contest by taking a multiple-choice test. A later round allows competitors to give a short speech about a local issue of their choice before a panel of judges.
Astha said she’s been passionate about her speech topic — the use of coal for energy — for years. She said her fluency with her topic, and her ability to think on her feet, may have helped her edge out other contestants and become Illinois’ winner.
“A big part is thinking up an answer to the question quickly, clearly and confidently,” Astha said.
Illinois Civics Bee state champion Astha Savalia of Naperville receives her winnings for the competition from Jimmy Clayton, president of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, and state finals competition moderator Kelly Pautler Edwards of State Farm. (Courtesy of Antara Prasad)
Studies cover founding documents, government systems
During her first year competing in the Civics Bee, Astha’s sister, Reva, was eliminated at state just before being able to give her speech, which she had prepared about the issue of data centers and their effects on the environment.
The sisters said the studying they did together for months — covering topics including America’s founding documents, key writers from the nation’s founding era, the workings of the American democracy, and ways to become more engaged in civic society — helped them feel prepared for state.
Fellow state competitors also included Aisha Chavda of Plainfield, who advanced to Nationals last year and drew national media coverage.
“With all of the strongest competitors from each region, I was definitely feeling the pressure,” Reva said.
Knowledge to ‘impact the world we live in’
No matter how competing at Nationals goes for Astha, she said she’ll take away a broad base of knowledge about American government and civic history from her participation in the Civics Bee. This is her second year joining the competition and her last year of eligibility.
“My favorite things to learn about are the court cases and how our (American government) system is set up because I feel like that’s most applicable to today,” Astha said. “If I know how the Senate works, then I know how my vote is going to impact the world we live in.”
Photo courtesy: Antara Prasad
Stay in the know – sign up for our daily news update!
