There are probably professional politicians out there who would be envious of senior Alexandra Prendergast’s resume.

Prendergast, better known by everyone as Lexie, has focused her life on government, particularly in the field of civil rights law. She recently added this honor to her resume: the U.S. Senate Youth Program’s prestigious scholarship of $5,000.

She is a member of an impressive five extracurricular activities, which include being a student member of the Danbury Board of Education, a member of the Statewide Student Advisory Council on Education, the president of the Danbury High School Key Club as well as Young Democrats Club, and the Lt. Gov. of Connecticut Key Clubs.

The application and admission process for the Youth Program scholarship was labor intensive and pressure-packed, but how she handled it reflects Prendergast’s drive to succeed.

“I initially applied to this program by sending in a transcript, resume, and two essays,” she recalls.  “I then traveled to Hartford for an in-person ‘interview,’ which proved to be more of an extemporaneous speaking contest.

I stood in front of a panel of seven or eight judges,” she continues. “I was given several policy questions, and had to give a two-minute speech on the Syrian refugee crisis without time for preparation. In order to succeed, I relied heavily upon my public speaking and critical thinking abilities, as well as my knowledge of domestic and foreign policy.”

She has also met President Obama twice, thanks to the Youth program, an experience she labeled as “a very surreal experience… I think one of the things that really hit me was that his staff told us that he made it a priority to make sure he got to meet us. He said, ‘I think that room is full of future leaders. Go out there and take over the world, don’t let anything limit you.’”

The program has also made it possible for her to travel to Washington D.C. twice, the second time occurring this past week.

“We met with [Obama], cabinet members, a Supreme Court justice and members of Congress. We also took a visit to NASA headquarters as well as many other historic sites in Washington, D.C,” Prendergast explained.

Her Symphonic Band teacher Ted Adams describes her as “incredibly driven in her political endeavors. She wants to improve the situation for other people. Whereas other people go into politics for themselves, she’s one of the people in politics for the right reasons.”

Prendergast is more concerned with helping others before herself, a mentality that stemmed from her childhood experiences.

“My parents were both sick for some time and so I connect to what people go through sometimes. I think that gives me a personal connection to politics because I really genuinely think that I can help people through this field,” Prendergast added.

Her infatuation with government did not begin until about a year ago.

“I wasn’t even interested in government until the Senate Page Program last year; I was convinced that I was going to become a doctor and work in the medical field,” she said.

Michelle Passarelli, Prendergast’s AP U.S. History teacher during her junior year, said, “Part of last year, she was a Senate Page. She went above and beyond what she had to do because while she was in D.C. She would email me about once a week to make sure she was on pace.”

Prendergast explained that the Senate Page Program was a gratifying experience. It allowed her to travel to D.C. and work in the Senate for three months. She was sponsored by Sen. Chris Murphy.
“We would wake up every morning at 5 a.m, and go to school from 6:15 to no later than 9:30 a.m. Then we would go the Senate and work there until night, and sometimes if the Senate adjourned late, we’re talking like 12-1 a.m. We would be there for the full stretch of time,” she adds.

“When I came back to the high school, I was able to straighten out my priorities in ways that I hadn’t before,’ she continues. “I had a clearer direction and I think I knew what I wanted to do. I’ve been on a pretty serious path since that point I think.”

Prendergast has also traveled to Europe to participate in a Model United Nations Conference. Yale University sponsors the program, and chose one student to send to Europe to participate in the conference.

“It was my first MUN conference, but for some reason they put me on the United America team, which is the most competitive team in the states and one of the most competitive internationally,” Prendergast said.

At the MUN conferences, participants are put into committees that individually debate issues; Prendergast’s “UK House of Lords” committee debated foreign policy in relation to the terrorist threat in the Middle East and Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

She placed 1st in her assigned committee,  which is extremely rare for a person who has never competed before, since participants with little experience usually need to be acclimated to the conference setting before placing anything in their committee.

As for her social life outside of politics, her peers admire her highly.

Delaney Daly, senior, comments, “Lexie is one of the most hardworking and ambitious people that I know. Her intelligence is well beyond her years, and she has an extraordinary mind for writing and understanding political policy.

She adds that Prendergast is “an astute Democrat who, I am sure, will achieve great things in the political arena or whatever career field she chooses to pursue. “

As for her future, Prendergast has not chosen a college to attend thus far, but applied to competitive ones with highly rated government programs.

“Right now I’m primarily interested in civil rights law, but then beyond that I’d like to run for public office at some point in time,” she admits.