This week on q a, a discussion with High School Students attending the 54th annual United State Senate youth progr program. The students talked about their participation in the program and their plans for the future. Cspan give me your name and where you are from. Brooke hanes from indiana. Cspan what are we doing here . Today we will talk about our experiences we had over the week, visiting many places in the nations capitol and listening to our leaders. Your name, sir . I am alex young and also from indiana. What are you been doing this week . We have been talking to quest speakers from different departments in the burr and Supreme Court. But the most important part was interacting with the delegates from washington, d. C. , japan and south korea. Whether it was talking about politics or what we had for breakfast was probably the best part of the weekend. Cspan any disagreements . For sure. But whether it is our favorite fruit, you know . I like pineapple but lots dont. Disenzyme disagreements but ends in a hand shake. Cspan what is the program called . U. S. Senate Youth Program. Cspan how do you get chosen . Each state selects two delegates based on their application essays and their resume. Cspan why dont we move around and find out what is on the rest of your minds. I would start by asking the question after this week who impressed you the most and why . So if we get some hands. Let start here. Stand up, name and where you are from. I am Meredith Mccain and from atlanta, georgia. Cspan that is who you are most impressed . Washington journalist talked to us and i loved the outside source reporting back to us and the electorate and told us to look out for our Guardian Angels and those who guide us. Cspan what is your own goal . Where were you going in life . I would louver to be an International Journalist or to be part of the Foreign Service and eventually an ambassador to a spanishspeaking country. But you know, just something that is a global point of view and can incorporate lots of different people and government leaders like mr. Capeheart had in his career. Cspan thank you. Lets go over here. Yes, sir, stand up, name and from. Walter jackson from north carolina. I would have to say my most memorable moment would be going to the white house and meeting the president and the best part was watching him come down the hallway was you see that on television but seeing it in person was incredible. Cspan what did you notice in person that you dont see on television . He looked a little thinner than he does on television. But still, just to be in a president s presence, no matter if you agree with his policies or not is incredible. He is tall. His ears look the same. But it was just an incredible experience and i am grateful to the Hurst Foundation for giving me that opportunity. Cspan what year do you plan to run for president . I dont plan to run. Cspan yes, sir, your name and where are you from. Stand where they can see you. Hi, i am hari kumar and i am from massachusetts. Cspan who this week impressed you the most . I enjoyed the senator from hawaii because she grew up from a tough family and it was inspirational hearing what she had to say and her years in Public Service were an inspiration to us all. Cspan where is your family from . Southern india and we moved here well my parents moved in the 80s and i grew up here. Cspan what is the difference between being an immigrant and born in this country . Ancestors coming from european countries. There is a lot of racial diversity here. It is great tool like the different types of perspectives depending on where you group, what type of economic background you, because the Hurst Foundation provided all of the money. Travel expenses and hotel room was covered meaning people from various economic backgrounds were able to come. I really enjoyed learning from everyone. Cspan somebody told me you got a surprise announcement on your scholarship. What was it . Everyone thought it would be 5,000 which is phenomenal but on sunday night, i think, they announced it would be doubled so that is 10,000 and then the loudest applause i ever heard erupted in the room. [applause] cspan who else wants to talk about somebody. Hi, i am from New Hampshire and i want to tell you about Jeffrey Hurst of the human. He talked about Technology Museum and its influence in the news media especially the past 20 years and i enjoyed his speech because it talked about how we have created our own space spaces online where we have information we agree with coming to us but dont hear a lot from the other side because of the way the algorithms work on social media. Cspan do you go to both sides . I have been trying to follow different people on twitter as mr. Gabe heart said because you hear from both sides. So i am starting to get more information from the other side instead of people that agree with me. Cspan anybody over here . Yes, maam. What is your name and were are you from . I am Madeleine Morano from wyoming. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the most inspirational person we have met. She has been an idol of mine for a long time. I either want to be in the Legal Profession or possibly a senator. But she has done such amazing work to advance womens rights and especially women going into the legal system. So it was really an honor to get to speak to her. Cspan what did she say when she made her presentation that will you will remember . That is tough. Well, she talked a lot about the influences of Different Supreme Court justices and sort of their legacies. So i guess it makes you think about like what you want your legacy to be even if you are not a Supreme Court justice. But just how impactful some of their state departments decisions have been and if i one day become a lawyer i will want to put a lot of thought into these important decisions because it is something that is really going to stick around. Cspan in this room a few days ago she gave an eulogy to Justice Scalia and they were Close Friends over the years and couldnt have been more different. Is that symbol for your life or the symbol in the Political Campaign . I think we have not seen enough of it in the Political Campaigns. There is a lot of bickering on both sides but i think it is important to reach across the aisle and try to get to know people, not only that you are running against, but really anyone who has a different opinion than yours because it is really important to challenge your perspectives. Cspan i want to go to the other end of the room. I see a lot of hands over here and get other perspective. Your name and where you are from and make sure you look at the camera. Kate from nevada. My favorite person that spoke to us this week was lamar alexander. He gave us a positive perspective and told us we could do whatever we wanted to do be when we got older. He told us a story about doing voice state back in tennessee he was elected to be the governor and the governor had a talk with him and said some day one of you will be the governor of tennessee and he actually was. It was really cool to hear the Inspiring Stories like that. And you know, he talked about how you dont need to be partisan and just agree to disagree thing. Cspan based on what you saw this week what do you want to become in the future . Of all jobs people have that spoke with you . Dream would be Public Service but the military mentors shown me that i do think i want to serve after college so that was really cool to see their perspective. Cspan take advantage of your hand up and get your name and where where you are from. I am Melissa Sylvester and the most inspiring person i heard was my military mentor, major, long of the air force who inspired me with her dedication to Public Service and serving the United States of america. She is an inspiration with her hard work and wisdom she has been able to impart on our group. Cspan is she in this room . She is. Cspan where is she sitting . Right over there. [applause] cspan explain what mentors do during the week. Our military mentors have been given groups of around 67 kids per mentor and they have been explaining to us the role of etiquette and decorum in some of the various settings that we have had to learn about this week as well as keeping us organized and definitely on time as well. They have also told their stories about working for the United States of america and what that met to them. And i didnt expect my military mentor to play such a big role in my experience here but she really has and i appreciate that very much. Cspan guess where i am going next . It a bit of a trek. I am going to the military mentor to find out her story. Where is she . I am looking at the wrong person. What is your name again . Major breezy long. Cspan major, why do you think she thinks you are such a good mentor . Well, all this time i thought she was such a bright kid, but i dont know. Honestly, i am not even sure how i ended up in the company of military mentors. I have not been involved with youth and volunteering as much as many of my colleagues. They have extensive backgrounds in this work and i am fortunate to be among them. Cspan where are you stationed . I am at Los Angeles Air force base. Cspan how long in the air force . 12 years. Cspan why did you go in in the first place . I thought what my grandparents did in their generation was traditional to join the military first out of high school and give back to the United States before they went on to pursue their own careers whether it be Public Service or simply putting food on the table. I didnt give thought to whether it was traditional for women but just traditionally american. I planned to be in four or five years before moving on. Cspan you changed your mind . Yes, sir. Cspan thank you very much. [applause] cspan i was going to switch but this young lady has something to say. I am abigail from north carolina. Jack warren was the speaker that inspired me. He is the director of the society of cincinnati and background on that it is the oldest Historical Society of its kind in the United States and it catalogs the ideology that preface the revolutionary war and ideas in which the nation is founded. And i have to admit he wasnt had speaker i was looking forward but as soon as he got up and started talking about the beginning of the nation essentially revolutionalized individual liberty and the relationship between people and their government and the extent in which people were able to be free i was inspired and it tugged at the heart springs. Cspan what are your own plans . I started out hoping to be the first female chief justice of the United StatesSupreme Court but listening to the legislatures that we have spoken to i think i would like to try to get into politics and policy making. Cspan do you know where you are going to go to school . No, sir. Cspan what is your name . I am kyelee and my father is active duty in the army and we are stationed in south korea. I would love to talk about the people from nasa. Like the nasa administrator, charles golden, and others from the center. A lot of us may not be interested in pursuing s. T. E. M. Careers but it was inspiring to hear how passionate people are about science and expanding the frontiers of what we know especially mr. Bolden. He gave us insight into looking into where our tax money is going and asking the right questions. Hearing how personal he was and interacting with the audience was amazing and just to feel that passion from nasa was one of the big takeaways. Cspan are you interested in going to mars . After seeing movies like martian and gravity i think a lot more people are interested in science and yes, i think that would be really amazing. Cspan see what we can work out for you. I want to switch and find out what you have been thinking this week about politics. You met a lot of politicians. I assume you are watching the president ial campaign. You probably came in here with ideas of what you thought political people were like upclose. Your name and where were you from . Nathan levt from oklahoma. Where in oklahoma . Tulsa. Cspan what is your high school . Booker t. Cspan we had 2800 entries during our last campaign and the big winner was from tulsa, oklahoma, jen ks high school. What do you think about politics . I think we are interested in politics and came in skeptical watching the derbies that are the debates and it reaffirmed my faith in politics because the people we see on television and cspan are real people. When i saw president obama, the thing that stood out is he had bags under his eyes and he is a real person dealing with real things. Cspan so what are you thinking when you see the campaign . Is that real . To an extent. These are real people with real ideas that transform themselves. I think perhaps the biggest dichotomy could be between the last two republican debates. There was the one where everyone attacked each other and last night they were civil and had a real debate. I think it is the real female the extent the polling tells them to be. Cspan thank you, sir. How about over here. Yes, sir, what is your name . Justin cross from knoxville, tennessee. Cspan what are you thinking . Like what nathan is saying they seem hard headed and unable to compromise but it is taking place. They seem to draw a hard line but a lot of times they are able to justify that based on their moral or economic beliefs about politics. Cspan what is your reaction to watching the campaign . I think a lot of that is distorting the media. You know . They always say no press is bad press so getting their name out there, getting attention, is more of the driving motivator. But i think when you look underneath, at least with the majority of the campaigns with the exception of maybe one or two, they do have plans and goals they want to make happen. I think what we are seeing through the campaign process is simply a tool to get in office and try to make it happen. Cspan what are you own plans . I am going to university of Tennessee Knoxville and then hope to law school and we will see where i go from there. Cspan i heard 50 of the Law School Graduates cant find jobs. I am doing a business undergraduate so hopefully i have a safety net there. Cspan thank you. Yes, sir . Tell us where you are from and your name. Hi, i am Jackson Wilkins and from mississippi. To answer your question about politics i think the thing that struck me this week is how distorted our view of politics has become through a really politicized media. When i met senator whicker from mississippi, he is very conservative and something we are proud of. I noticed after taking pictures he walked up to senator cory booker and took his hand and they had huge smiles on their face. I was surprised because the media teaches us that democrats and republicans are supposed to be at odds with each other. I think that people make recognize that we need to be respectful toward each other and we need to understand senators are respectful toward each other and that will be more conducive to getting real policy done. Cspan do you blame the media . You said that but what about the politicians . Do they have any responsibility in this back and forth . Obviously. We need to be respectful toward each other and recognize though we disagree we are all working toward the same goal and want what is best for the United States. We just disagree on the best path to reach that goal. Cspan i would like to ask if there is anybody in the room who cant stand this campaign . Dont like what they see. Willing to stand up and take about it. Who is somebody i havent talked to. I dont think i have talked to you. What is your name . Laura wagoner and go to high school in delaware. Cspan what about this campaign . I think it has gone so far extreme. The republicans have gone very far to the right and the democrats have gone far to had left and i think most americans are moderate voters. As a moderate voter, the tough part is how we can bring compromise back to the middle. Compromise is the foundation of the nation and i believe if we want to go forward and do the best we have to find a middle ground. So not polarize it the right or left as much. Cspan what do you think is motivating this . I think a lot of it is stand standup candidates who are sound bytes in the media. Donald trump can Say Something horrible and it pushes everybody so far to the right. Just the 24 hour news cycle and the fact any time a candidate is on the record and they are trying to push everybody away from the middle. Cspan the right says donald trump is not a conservative. That is debatable, i think. He has very bizarre policies and i think candidates like ted cruz are very far to the right also. So i think just the insanity of this campaign has polarized everybody. Cspan who else has something to say about the campaign we have not talked . Yes, sir, your name . Adrien and i go to school in west virginia. Cspan where . Martin. Cspan what do you think . Politics is a very hard topic to talk about because there is such a wide range of everything. All the topics they cover are broad and extensive. It is very hard to talk about politics especially in the world of serious partisanship and just the severe divide and polarization. When you have a Campaign Like this you have strong willed people who want to make a difference and you see a wide view of strong opinions and leads to tension.