Sen. Jeff Sessions visits Vestavia Hills High School’s We the People class

Sen. Jeff Sessions recently visited Vestavia Hills High School to congratulate members of the school’s We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution class for its top-five finish in a national competition.

Sessions spent about an hour with incoming and outgoing members of the class in the school’s library. He discussed the ongoing legacy of the United States Constitution, a focus of study for the class, and took questions from the students about constitutional law and working in Congress.

“I’m proud of what you’re doing,” Sessions said to the class, which competed last month in a mock congressional hearing competition in Washington and finished fifth in the nation. “Any of you could be a governor or president or a senator. All of you are smart enough to do that,” he said.

The class, according to teacher Amy Maddox, is a study of AP Government with a focus on civil political discourse. The class competes nationally against other We the People teams and has finished among the top 10 teams in America in eight of the past 10 years.

“It’s a nice way to close out the year for the seniors. It makes everything they’ve worked so hard to learn and understand real,” Maddox said of Sessions’ visit.

“I think it’s really cool to get to listen to the thoughts of one of your state’s representatives,” junior class member Sophia Traywick said.