Georgia U.S. Senate Candidate Reagan Box Visits DCHS Students Crafting Legislation for Youth Academy

Reagan Box, a candidate for the Georgia U.S. Senate in 2026, paid a visit to Dade County High School (DCHS) to support Congressional Academy students as they collaborated on their proposed legislation for the Youth Academy they will attend after Thanksgiving.

In early November, DCHS was selected by the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement, in partnership with the state of Georgia, to be one of 50 schools participating in the Presidential and Congressional Academy. DCHS had the opportunity to select one teacher for the Presidential Academy and three students for the Congressional Academy. The chosen teacher had to be someone who valued government, history, and civic education as essential aspects of being a responsible citizen and community member. Mr. Millican, the Government teacher and lead Student Council Advisor at DCHS, was selected to represent the school in the Presidential Academy. The three students chosen had to be in grades 10-11 and show an interest in pursuing a career in law, government, or public administration. The three students selected for the Congressional Academy are Emma Hartline, Emma Vandagriff, and Savannah Wolfe. These three young women are all interested in or open to pursuing one of the required careers.

After Thanksgiving, the students will attend the Youth Assembly in Atlanta, GA, where they will participate in a comprehensive simulation of the Georgia Assembly. During this simulation, Hartline, Vandagriff, and Wolfe will serve as senators. They will engage in the Assembly as Senators and live as Senators from November 26th to November 28th. On November 6th, Hartline, Vandagriff, and Wolfe had to create and submit a bill to the Youth Assembly. The bill was chosen to be discussed in the Assembly. If the Bill is accepted and passed at the Youth Assembly, it will move on to the Georgia Assembly, where it will also be voted on and potentially become Georgia State Law.

This is where Ms. Box comes into the picture. Reagan Box, a resident of Chickamauga, GA, and a current candidate for the 2026 Georgia U.S. Senate seat, generously offered her time to visit these exceptional young women and provide feedback and assistance to make their Assembly experience even more rewarding. Ms. Box is still based in the Northwest Georgia area and is a graduate of Berry College. She is also an enthusiastic equestrian.