Junior Zahara Bernal joins classmates Drew Park and Stephen Yang as a winner of the Congressional Seminar Essay Contest. The contest, sponsored by the National Society of Colonial Dames and Washington Workshops Foundation, asks students to submit responses to a prompt, which are then evaluated by a panel of lawyers and judges. This year’s question? “Why did the nation’s founders choose a government with separated power rather than a parliamentary system?” Winners receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where they take part in the Workshops Foundation's Congressional Seminar, an interactive, civic-focused learning experience.

Bernal, Park and Yang are students in Dr. Christine Carter’s Advanced Placement United States History class. The Georgia chapter of the Society of Colonial Dames recognized Bernal during a special presentation on Tuesday, April 2; Park and Yang were recognized on Jan. 23.