OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Kissimmee freshman Araoluwakiitan A. is headed to Washington to represent Florida in the National Civics Bee, where he will compete for a $100,000 education fund.
The NeoCity Academy student secured his spot by winning the Florida State Civics Bee on June 30 in Tallahassee. Hosted by Florida State University’s Institute for Governance and Civics, the state competition awarded him a $1,000 top prize.
The national championship takes place Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Washington, D.C. Local readers can watch the final competition live on C-SPAN and YouTube at 8 p.m. ET.
Araoluwakiitan’s path to nationals began close to home. He placed third at The Osceola Chamber’s regional bee on April 17 at the Rosen Centre Orlando, earning $100 and a trophy.
At the time, he was an eighth grader at Voyager K-8 School in St. Cloud.
This is Araoluwakiitan’s second year in the civics bee program. In 2025, he won the Osceola Chamber’s regional competition and placed fourth at the state level.
Applications for the 2027 Civics Bee are open through Feb. 2, 2027. Students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades at public, private, charter and home schools may submit essays.
Community leaders will score the entries to select the top 20 regional finalists.
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