Megan Campbell

Megan is a senior at Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri. She is the president of her school’s Physics Astronomy and Chemistry Club, as well as the Coding Club. She has engaged with physics research since her sophomore year, and enjoys learning about computational physics in her free time. In and out of school, she studies German and Swedish, and she participated in a German exchange program. Megan first started learning about government her junior year, and she found it to be a fascinating and powerful subject that she is excited to explore in the future. She is very grateful for this opportunity from Constituting America and hopes to continue educating her peers on the importance of government.

Watch Megan’s Winning Short Film Below:

Our Interview With Megan

Was this the first time you entered the contest?
Yes

How did you hear about the contest?
I heard about it from the Going Merry Scholarship website

What inspired your work?
I took AP Government and Politics and had an amazing teacher who made the class incredibly interesting and fun. I became interested in how the government works, especially in how the government protects minority rights, and specific court cases that have stood up for minorities in the past. I also started to think about politics and how our modern political environment has developed. I chose to focus on how the government protects minority rights, however, because it was something I had enough information about to make a long video.

What did you learn about the U.S. Constitution while creating your entry?
I learned about the different safeguards the Constitution has to protect against tyranny of the majority. I also learned about times in which majority groups have attempted to suppress minority rights and how they were blocked by the Constitution.

How do you plan to spread the word this year to your peers about the importance of the U.S Constitution?
I plan to organize small discussion groups of elementary schoolers to talk about government and the Constitution, especially given the current political climate. I work with elementary schoolers a lot, and I know they have questions about politics and the government.

Which U.S. historical site would you like to visit?
I would really like to visit the capital building as well as the Library of Congress. It would also just be really cool to see Congress.

What are your career plans?
I want to study physics in college and become a physicist.

How do you spend your free time?
I like reading, especially about politics. My favorite book is The Codding of the American Mind. Right now I’m reading a book in German about the Alternative Für Deutschland political party. I also really like coding, and I do that a lot in my free time.

Why is the Constitution relevant today?
The Constitution is arguably the most important document in American history. It is the framework for every law passed in the United States and the basis for all of our court decisions. People tend to think that the Constitution is just some old document that has no impact on us today, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Every Supreme Court case is based on the Constitution; it is the supreme law of the land.

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