May 9, 2025
Ten middle-school students from across the state will gather in Salem June 5 for the second annual Oregon Civics Bee. The students qualified for the state competition by distinguishing themselves among dozens of their peers at a pair of regional civics bees this spring. The top three finishers at the Oregon Civics Bee will receive cash prizes, and the winner will be eligible to represent Oregon at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s National Civics Bee in Washington, D.C., in November.
The Oregon Civics Bee is presented by U.S. Bank and organized by OBI in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Beginning in November 2024, 6th, 7th and 8th graders entered the competition by submitting essays explaining how they would use civics principles to address problems they identified in their communities. A panel of judges chose the best essays, and their writers were invited to participate in the contest’s two regional civics bees, one in Tigard and the second in Eugene.
The top finishers at those two bees, who will compete in the Oregon Civics Bee, are: Naina Bhanoo, from Corvallis; Lane Collier, from Baker City; Athanasia Gatziolis, from Portland; Mary Jane Hill, from Harrisburg; Grace Kim, from Eugene; Avery Neice, from Lake Oswego; Romi Oji, from Portland; Emeryn Tibbs, from Portland; Juniper Ward, from Corvallis; and Yervant Wei, from West Linn.
The Oregon Civics Bee will take place at 2 p.m. on June 5 at Willamette University’s Hudson Hall. Secretary of State Tobias Read will moderate the competition.
OBI would like to thank U.S. Bank for sponsoring the Oregon Civics Bee and Willamette University for providing the venue.