SCL hosted the 2026 regional finals of the National Civics Bee, welcoming 26 middle schoolers to UT Austin. Selah Gruy won first place and will represent Texas nationally in November, with Tanish Patil second and Christine Alex third.
The School of Civic Leadership was thrilled to sponsor and host the 2026 regional finals for the National Civics Bee, an annual competition that tests the civic knowledge of middle schoolers from around the state.
This year, 26 middle school students from across the state came to UT Austin to compete at the State Civics Bee, which was sponsored by SCL and the National Chamber of Commerce.
A huge congratulations goes out to our winners:
Selah will travel to Washington, D.C. in November to represent Texas at the National Civics Bee.
In addition, we have many thanks to our 2026 judges, the Honorable Don Willet, Chief Justice Scott Brister, and Stacy Hock, as well as our featured speaker, Justice Evan Young, and our Emcee: Richard Albert. Finally, a special thanks to our sponsor Marc Rodriguez for donating iPads for each student to keep after the competition.
