Reagan Kemmerer has a lot of love for her country, so she said she’s made it a priority to learn as much as possible about the laws and policies that guide the government and its citizens.
Her dedication is paying off.
First place winner Reagan Kemmerer, 15, right, of St. Junipero Serra Catholic School is joined on stage with Chris Lowe, Trish O’Donnell director of education at the Richard Nixon Foundation as she holds her $500 check at the conclusion of the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Contestant Ethan Pudjayana, 13, reacts after getting the wrong answer during the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
First place winner Reagan Kemmerer, 15, left, of St. Junipero Serra Catholic School poses for a photo with Ray Dunne, former principal at Santa Margarita Catholic High School at the conclusion of first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bridget Sweeney of Rolling Hills School in Fullerton examines the answers on her electronic pad during the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Gavin Anderson, 12, left, and
Ethan Pudjayana, 13, anxiously wait to see if the chose the correct answer during the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
All 20 contestants examine the possible answers on their electronic pad during the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ethan Pudjayana, 13, crosses his fingers as he anxiously waits for the answer at the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. “I was not confident in the answer I picked,” said Pudjayana. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Gavin Anderson, 12, reacts after getting the correct answer at the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Kennedy Kemmerer, 23, left, hugs her sister and first place winner Reagan Kemmerer, 15, a student at at St. Junipero Serra Catholic School at the conclusion of first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Erica Kemmerer mother of first place winner Reagan Kemmerer, 15, a student at St. Junipero Serra Catholic School reacts as she takes the stage at the conclusion of first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Chris Lowe, Trish O’Donnell director of education at the Richard Nixon Foundation hosts the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Constants answer questions on their electronic pads during the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bridget Sweeney of Rolling Hills School in Fullerton answers questions from the panel during the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Emile Fravien, center, holding a photo of his brother and contestant Arlo, is joined by his cousin Mishayla Sargeant, left, and grandmother Jackilyn Prince, as they watch Arlo answers from the panel during the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
First place winner Reagan Kemmerer, 15, center, of St. Junipero Serra Catholic School holds her $500 check as she’s congratulated on stage at the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Erica Kemmerer, left, embraces her daughter and first place winner Reagan Kemmerer, 15, a student at at St. Junipero Serra Catholic School at the conclusion of first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Gavin Anderson, 12, left, and
Ethan Pudjayana, 13, react after getting the correct answer at the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Chris Lowe, Trish O’Donnell director of education at the Richard Nixon Foundation, right, is pictured with the 10 finalists at the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Guest panel, from left, Gaddi Vasquez, Ray Dunne, Lisa Sparks, Jolynn Mahoney, and Natalie Rubalcava listen to the contestants
during the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Contestant Ella Idehen, at podium, answers questions from the panel during the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Contestants in the tie-breaker round, from left, Bridget Sweeney, Gavin Anderson, and Juliet Stuart, react when they realize they picked the correct answer during the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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First place winner Reagan Kemmerer, 15, right, of St. Junipero Serra Catholic School is joined on stage with Chris Lowe, Trish O’Donnell director of education at the Richard Nixon Foundation as she holds her $500 check at the conclusion of the first regional competition of The National Civics Bee in California ever will take place at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“It’s a little bit unexpected, but I’m really proud of myself,” said Kemmerer. “And I’m really honored because I’m really proud to live in the United States. And so, this process of learning more about it meant a lot to me.”
Kemmerer advances to the first-ever state finals, which take place in June at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. Top finishers in the state competition will advance to the National Civics Bee Championships in Washington, D.C. this fall, with the winner receiving $100,000 towards college.
Kemmerer received $500 for winning the regional competition.
Joining Kemmerer at the state finals will be second-place finisher Arlo James Fravien from Walton Intermediate School in Orange and Karishna Gopinathan from Oxford Preparatory in Lake Forest, who finished third.
Fravien and Gopinathan won $250 and $125, respectively.
“We were so impressed and inspired by the students,” said Chris Lowe, director of education for the Richard Nixon Foundation. “It’s all about the students, and they did an amazing job.”
California is now one of 40 states participating in the National Civics Bee. The end goal is to encourage young people to take a more active role in civic engagement, organizers said.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation launched the civics bee as a pilot program in 2022 in five cities, said Hilary Crow, vice president of civics for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation in Washington, D.C.
The civics bee is now held in 40 states and will likely take place in all 50 states in 2026, Crow said.
“It’s an effort really focused on positioning civics as a national priority and getting the business community involved in raising awareness about the importance of civic knowledge and skills across the country,” Crow said.
For the first round Wednesday night, 20 middle school students from Orange County schools took a 10-question, multiple choice quiz onstage at the Nixon Library using iPads.
The questions were projected on a screen for the audience to participate as well; here are a couple:
Question: How did Harry S. Truman demonstrate the civic virtue of courage during his presidency?
Answer: By desegregating the armed forces.
Question: What does equal protection under the law guarantee in the United States?
Answer: That all individuals are treated the same under the law regardless of race, gender or religion.
The top 10 students from the first round advanced to a second round, where each presented a three-sentence summary of their civics project and then answered questions from the judges.
“Before doing this, I didn’t really know a lot about our country’s past,” Kemmerer said. “And so now, having that knowledge, I’m starting to get more involved, watching the news every night and learning more and getting more involved in my community.”
Presidents Day at the Nixon Library brings history to life
Kemmerer’s mother, Erika, expressed her surprise and pride at her daughter’s achievement, as well as the competition in general.
“We didn’t realize this was as amazing as they set this up to be,” she said. “It was really cool.”
She praised her daughter’s speaking skills and had encouraged her to trust her instincts during the competition, Erika Kemmerer said. “I just said, go with your gut and your heart when you’re up there.”
Reagan Kemmerer said now she’ll be focusing on preparations for the state bee.
“This one was hard and the people here were so smart and they knew what they were doing here,” she said. “So I’m so grateful for this.”
