U.S. Senator John Boozman’s (R-AR) Congressional Youth Cabinet (CYC) is now in its 10th year, and the senator launched the 2026-2027 CYC at the Old State House Museum in Little Rock. This year, 80 accomplished participants were selected from public, private, charter and homeschools across The Natural State for their demonstrated community leadership and involvement, representing some of Arkansas’s best and brightest students.
“The Congressional Youth Cabinet is a unique opportunity to explore issues and policies relevant to these outstanding students as well as their communities, our state and nation,” said Boozman. “My staff and I are excited to help guide them through this initiative while encouraging their interest in civic engagement and public service. It is always rewarding to help introduce them to the legislative process and empowering them to develop solutions to the challenges facing their generation. I look forward to seeing them collaborate, share their ideas and build the confidence to become engaged citizens and future leaders who make a positive difference throughout The Natural State and beyond.”
A Nonpartisan, Hands-On Civics Program
Boozman’s office designed the Congressional Youth Cabinet as a nonpartisan, civics-based program to offer students a first-hand experience with the democratic process and the opportunity to understand how public policy impacts them, their families and communities. The students will attend meetings throughout the school year and work in teams to select and then research national issues, develop policy recommendations before presenting them to the senator and his staff the following spring.
2026-2027 Congressional Youth Cabinet Members
The following students were selected to participate in the CYC for the 2026-2027 school year:
1st Congressional District
- Bennett Allen, Cabot High School
- Ma’Riyah Byers, Forrest City High School
- Colby Cooper, Cabot High School
- Trevor Gordon, East Poinsett County High School
- Aiden Hook, Valley View High School
- Parker Johns, Cabot High School
- Ramsey Jones, Cabot High School
- Ty’Rica King, Blytheville High School
- Gareth Lee, Cabot High School
- Rachael McCall, Cabot High School
- Kaveri Nagpal, Valley View High School
- Grant Horton, Marshall High School
- Samuel Talmaciu, Bergman High School
- Nakyah Thompson, Delta Preparatory School
- Ellie Stricklin, Beebe High School
- Elandra Spears, Delta Preparatory High School
- Baxley Vaught, Wynne High School
- Tabitha Wheeler, Valley Springs High School
- Jaxon Wood, Greene County Technical High School
- Mac Carpenter, Valley View High School
2nd Congressional District
- Jackson Brown, Arkansas Christian Academy
- Miley Barbosa, LISA Academy West High School
- Daniel Chen, Pulaski Academy
- Cameron Daniels, Bryant High School
- Girvan Donagher, Pulaski Academy
- Karissa Gaither, ESTEM High School
- Eila Giglio, LISA Academy North Middle-High
- Daniel Hunter, Catholic High School for Boys
- Avery Howell, Cabot High School
- Delajah McGhee, LISA Academy West High School
- Janet Marin, LISA Academy North
- Vishak Meenachi, Little Rock Central High School
- Kaveyanjali Sutha Merthi, LISA Academy West High School
- Mina Nafe, Little Rock Central High School
- Yana Pandit, Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and Arts
- Mursel Uygun, LISA Academy West High School
- Chase Varner, Maumelle Charter High School
- Mollie Windel, Mount Saint Mary Academy
- Emily Tornes Hidalgo, LISA Academy North Middle-High
- Suleyman Acikgoz, Little Rock Central High School
3rd Congressional District
- Dara Adejumo, Bentonville High School
- Matthew Granger, Greenwood High School
- Tristan Henehan, Southside High School
- Autumn Howe, Ozark High School
- Brylee Howe, Ozark High School
- Marlee Hurst, Northside High School
- Isabella Kluthe, Huntsville High School
- Grant Larimer, Haas Hall Academy Fayetteville
- Austin Mattingly, Farmington High School
- Harrison Placzek, Bentonville High School
- Denise Pollard, Bentonville High School
- Jiya Reddy, Bentonville High School
- Colleen Smith, Green Forest High School
- Lucy-Claire Song, Fayetteville High School
- Maximilian Temple, Don Tyson School of Innovation
- Evan Tidwell, Bentonville High School
- Maxwell Turnbull, Bentonville West High School
- Cora Villar, The New School
- Anaya Dike, Bentonville High School
4th Congressional District
- Maliyah Aleman, Arkansas Senior High School
- Adalyn Allen, Junction City High School
- Braelyn Allen, West Side Christian School
- Yojit Acharya, Lakeside High School
- Sagan Chambers, Monticello High School
- Rhiannon Dixon, Homeschool
- Daniela Garcia, Little Rock Southwest High School
- Kaylin Grissom, Arkansas Connections Academy
- Olivia Hernandez, Hot Springs World Class High School
- Ava Long, Harrison High School
- Candy Lopez-Gonzalez, Mills University Studies High School
- Ryker Martin, Arkansas High School
- Carter Moss, Lakeside High School
- Violet Myers, Sheridan High School
- Hailey Reed, Sheridan High School
- Greyson Shultz, Westside High School
- Vincent Vidanage, Lakeside High School
- Haley Wilkes, Fountain Lake High School
- Isac Wilhite, Fountain Lake High School
- D’unka Zillender, Camden Fairview High School
Source: Office of U.S. Senator John Boozman.
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