MIHS junior excels in The Presidential 1776 Award for Civics competition

Published 7:30 pm Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Summer Brondstetter has always been interested in American history, so it’s only fitting that her father, David, informed her about The Presidential 1776 Award for Civics nationwide competition.

With about a week to go before the deadline to register for the competition, which focuses on enhancing students’ understanding of civics and knowledge of America’s founding, the Mercer Island High School junior made a quick decision to go for it.

She began her journey in the United States Department of Education competition — which is part of the America 250 celebration — by studying diligently and taking the online Impossible Civics Test with more than 8,000 other high school students in February. She cranked out a stellar score in the tough exam and advanced to the in-person regional semifinals at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, in May.

Brondstetter shone during the difficult two-round semis, which featured questions zeroing in on the Constitution, key moments in U.S. history and more. And now, the regional-winning Islander moves on to the 20-student national finals, which will take place on June 9 at the Trump Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The top three winners will earn scholarships of $25,000, $75,000 and $150,000, respectively.

“It’s pretty incredible. I was pretty shocked when I read my name when I was doing the semifinals. I’m so incredibly excited to go to Washington, D.C. I’ve always wanted to go. I think this is going to be a really, really great trip for me,” Brondstetter said.

Growing up in a patriotic household, Brondstetter knows a lot about American history but she also learned some new things along the way when the competition unfolded.

The test covered a lot of ground and she especially enjoyed reading The Federalist Papers, letters from James Madison and Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Paine’s works in the source library to prepare for the exam.

“To have the opportunity to go through and take a look at these primary documents and really have a better understanding of how our nation formed was just a really incredible sort of intersection of all the different parts of my life for me,” said the American history aficionado.

To prepare for finals, Summer will re-read those documents and then take the quizzes that David has created for her to get back in on-stage mode for the Washington, D.C., event.

“Put your knowledge, curiosity and grit on the main stage,” reads The Presidential 1776 Award for Civics website.

Summer’s mother, Deborah, said the family is proud of the finalist.

“She works so hard for everything she gets, and so it’s not a surprise that she made the finals. It was well-earned, for sure,” Deborah said.

The Reporter asked Brondstetter a series of questions to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into her life:

If you could go to dinner with one person, who would that be?

I’m a huge admirer of George Washington. He’s just one of my all-time biggest heroes. Reading some of his addresses and his letters was just probably my favorite part of this whole experience. It was really incredible for me, and it just gave me a whole new appreciation of my country. When I’m in D.C., the highlight of my trip I think is not going to be the competition, but I’m actually going to head out to Mount Vernon, and I think that’s going to be pretty incredible for me.

What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve ever been given?

I don’t know about ever, but for this particular competition, right when I got through semifinals, I got home, and my father said to me, “Summer, this is going to be 28 days of hell, but after that, you’re good to go” (regarding preparing for the finals).

What’s your favorite movie of all time?

I would say probably “Gone with the Wind.”

What’s a special skill that you’d like to learn?

I really love learning languages, so when I’m in college, I’m really hoping I can learn German.

How do you spend your spare time?

I don’t have a whole lot of spare time these days, but I do actually read a lot on my own. I’m a big fan of all of the classics, especially American and Western European classics. I’ve read most of those, I’ve tried just about every kind of art there is. I have a pretty wide variety of hobbies, I would say. I love studying languages, and I play guitar as well.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Anything older usually. I love old country music, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, that sort of thing mainly. A lot of older jazz as well.

What’s your favorite restaurant there on the Island?

I would say, honestly, I’m a big fan of McDonald’s.

What superpower would you like to have?

I think I’d like the power to time travel.

What’s your daily motto? When you get up and you’re ready to go each day, what drives you?

I would say my daily motto is just, let me do better today than I’ve done yesterday.

And as far as maybe somewhere down the line in the future, do you see yourself getting into politics or anything like that?

I would say definitely. It’s something that really interests me. I’m planning on going to law school, and I don’t really know where that’s going to take me, but politics is definitely something I would never write off. It’s something I’ve got a really strong interest in, and it would not be surprising to me if that’s where I ended up.