South Albany High School senior Kylie Foster is one of two students from Oregon selected to take part in the United States Senate Youth Program March 3-10 in Washington, D.C.

Foster, 17, and her counterparts from all 50 states will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the capital plus a $5,000 college scholarship.

The program is administered and funded by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.

Foster, the daughter of Bob and Debbie Foster, qualified to apply because she has a strong commitment to public service and she is an officer in student government. She is president of the student body.

In September, she filled out an application and wrote an essay on why mandatory prayer in schools is unconstitutional. The following month, she learned from the Oregon Department of Education she was one of four finalists.

"I was extremely surprised and very, very excited," she said. "It's a statewide competition, and to be selected you have to be good academically and be a major part of the community."

Following interviews conducted by Department of Education officials she was selected to be one of the state's two delegates. The other is Will Prull of Veneta. He attends Churchill High School in Eugene.

Foster said the point of the program is to introduce high school students to the workings of government. Mentoring participants in the 45th annual session will be representatives from each branch of the military.

She is looking forward to learning more about the federal government and wants to work for the U.S. State Department using her language skills.

Foster does not know where she will go to college. She is waiting for responses to her inquiries. Her top choice is Georgetown University, and she is interested in Willamette University in Salem.