2026 Ninth Circuit Civics Contest - Winners Announced

Congratulations to the to six high school students whose essays and videos were selected in addressing the theme, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness-Your Voice. Your Story. Your America." The theme celebrates the upcoming 250-year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Winning essays and videos are posted on the civics contest website https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/civicscontest.

The Ninth Circuit received a total of 1,043 essays and 185 videos from students who competed at the local contests held by 15 judicial districts throughout the Ninth Circuit including Central District of California. Of all entries received, 45 essays and 44 videos advanced to the Ninth Circuit for preliminary consideration, and 12 essays and 12 videos were selected for final consideration.

Below are our Central District of California essays and videos winners and their submissions.

Essay Winners:
First place - Aashka Bhuptani, Redondo Union High School, Redondo Beach
Second place - Suah Jin, Sunny Hills High School, Fullerton
Third place - Audrey Chiang, Arcadia High School, Arcadia

Video Winners:
First place - Mahima Wuppalapati(link is external), Portola High School, Irvine
Second place - Katelyn Cheng(link is external), Trinity Pacific Christian School, Westlake Village
Third place - the team of Johann Benitez and Anamarys Cordero-Meraz(link is external), Alliance Judy Ivie Burton Technology Academy High School, Los Angeles

The contest was open to high school-age students who reside within the geographic area of the circuit. Prizes and contest-related expenditures are funded through attorney admission fees collected by the federal courts in the Ninth Circuit to fund educational programs for the bar and community.