Students from around Brevard County converged upon the ESF Board Room at the Education Service Center in Viera on Jan. 25 to experience what it is like to be a senator for a day as part of the the Model Student Senate program.

“It’s been around for ages,” Advanced Placement Human Geography teacher Brooke Owen-Thomas said. “Its purpose is to introduce students to the process of lawmaking and how government works because it’s a very confusing process.”

Despite the loss of the previously held “Best School” award to Viera, sophomore Sean Casey still enjoyed the experience.

“I thought that this year was better than last year. I felt like many different people, myself included, were able to more openly participate rather than the cluster of people that did all the participation last year,” Casey said. “My favorite part was the floor debate.”

Senior Luke Redito was given a Commendation for Senate President, as well as a Commendation for Most Overall Influential Senator, and junior Natalie Brown was awarded Outstanding Senate Clerk. Sophomores Sean Casey and Molly Minta were awarded the Most Influential Republican Senator and Most Effective Ranking Republican Member, respectively. Sophomore Sara Porhammer and senior Niytha Sheshadri were members of the Most Effective Committee, and Senior Olivia Escandell was nominated for Best Senate Portfolio.

Senior Rachel Kershaw participated for the first time this year, and was pleased with the experience.

“Being a freshman senator was really nerve-wracking at first. I was actually surprised by the level of professionalism, though. My favorite part of the experience was being around so many of my peers who like politics just like I do, especially because discussing politics is one of my favorite activities. I have been passionate about politics for a while now and it was nice to be around so many people my age who care about politics as well.”

By Molly Minta