Albany — A select group of students competed in the 2026 National Civics Bee New York State finals at the Albany Capital Center this week.
The event is the second to last round of a civics-focused competition that encourages students across the country to get involved with government and contribute to their communities. Nine students from across New York State completed two rounds of multiple choice questions about U.S. law and the Constitution.
The top five students then moved on to present and answer questions about self-chosen topics, based on essays they wrote and submitted prior to the competition. Topics ranged from packaging reduction, learning disability support and current events awareness.
The winner of the event, Anika Das from the Utica Chamber, discussed poverty near her home and across the state, including ways to provide resources to those in need and potential state legislative action to address the issue.
Judges Peter Wohl with Broadview Federal Credit Union, David Wainraub with Brown & Weinraub and Jim Malatras with the Fedcap group, listened to the five presentations and asked students questions about their topics before scoring.
Das, from the Fayetteville-Manlius school district, won $1,000 for coming out in first place. Inaya Adeel and Theodore Penfold from the Staten Island Chamber coming out in second and third place, claiming $500 and $250 as prizes.
State finalists also included Felicity Crow, Malaika Bynke, Penelope Galen from the Seneca Chamber, Vibhav Doppalapudi and Sophie Smith from the Utica Chamber, and Christopher Mosses from the Staten Island Chamber.
All nine students received tablets for their participation in the bee.
New York’s competitions are coordinated by the New York Public Policy Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Today’s event was hosted by the Business Council of New York State.
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CBS6’s Tom Eschen was the emcee of the event.