The Indiana Bar Foundation has announced the names of the two Indiana high school students chosen to attend the United States Senate Youth Program in March.

Tony Bennett, superintendent of public instruction, chose Matthew Binder, a student at Hobart High School, and Eric Chien, a student at Zionsville High School, as delegates to the 50th Anniversary USSYP in Washington D.C.

Each year, the competitive merit-based program brings 104 students – two from each state and the District of Columbia, and two from schools managed by the Department of Defense Education Activity – to the nation’s capitol for an intensive weeklong study of the federal government. Each student also receives a $5,000 undergraduate scholarship from The Hearst Foundations.

During the event, March 3 through 10, the students will attend meetings and briefings with U.S. senators and congressional staff, meet with President Barack Obama, a Supreme Court justice, leaders of cabinet agencies, an ambassador to the United States and top members of the national media. The students will also tour many of the national monuments and several museums.

The USSYP was created by Senate Resolution 324 in 1962 and has been sponsored by the senate and fully funded by The Hearst Foundations since inception. Notable alumni of the program include New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the first delegate to be elected governor; former Chief Judge Robert Henry, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit; and former presidential adviser Karl Rove.

Binder serves as lieutenant governor of Indiana YMCA Youth and Government and is president of Hobart High School Key Club. Chien is a student council representative, a member of the National Honor Society and a participant in Model UN.