The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held a local civics contest from January 8, 2025, to March 14, 2025. The theme of this year’s contest was “When Duty Calls: Why Exercising the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship is Important to Me.” In addressing the theme, students were asked to explore the importance of civic rights and responsibilities on both personal and community levels. High school students from 9th-12th grades across 15 counties in our district submitted essays or videos reflecting on how these principles influence their lives and our American society.
The local contest has concluded, and finalists have been selected. The students listed below have demonstrated exceptional understanding and creativity in addressing this year’s theme and are advancing to the circuit-level competition. The finalists are:
Essay Winners
- First Place ($2,000): Vikram Mahajan, Mission San José High School, Fremont
- Second Place ($1,500): Filipp Dmitriev, Amador Valley High School, Pleasanton
- Third Place ($1,000): Meital Zayats, Mountain View High School, Mountain View
Video Winners
- First Place ($2,000 – split evenly for group entries): Shai Ring, Finlay Hayes, and Bryan Thompson, Burlingame High School, Burlingame
- Second Place ($1,500): Zachary Bethune, Emerald High School, Dublin
- Third Place ($1,000): Ryan Chou, Westmoor High School, South San Francisco
To learn more about the other Ninth Circuit civics contest finalists, please click here.