Team 'The Americans,' Honorable Mention, Youth-Central

About Thomas Huckans (left): During my 9th grade year at Central Columbia High School in Bloomsburg, I took AP US Government and Politics, where I was introduced to Draw the Lines. I had already been very intrigued by politics, and this competition created a great outlet for my interests. I firmly believe that everyone should exercise their right to vote, and that it should be an activity that gives everyone an equal voice.

About Kevin Zheng: I am going into 10th grade next school year. I entered in this competition for an assignment in my AP US Government class.

About Brady Madden (pictured at bottom right): I am going to be a sophomore at Central Columbia High School. My AP Government class got me interested on the topic of redistricting and gerrymandering. I am the class president, I swim, and I play tennis.

Endorsements: 1

Personal statement

Our team's goal was to make our map as competitive as possible, while keeping districts compact and attempting to keep populations nearly the same. There are 12 competitive districts, two majority-minority districts, and a compactness score of 33.3 percent. The intended goal was to give the most power possible to Pennsylvanian citizens, and to give them more say in who is elected. Our map is well adapted to showing the desires of the voters.

Our group created our map by discussing amongst ourselves the ramifications of each choice and how to shape each district. We had previously learned about gerrymandering and its effects on democracy in our AP U.Ss Government and Politics course and we used that knowledge to make the best map possible. While making the map, we struggled with keeping the populations of each district close, while also keeping them competitive.