Discussing his recent appearance in the National Civics Bee, 14-year-old Cameron Parker said he felt good about representing Colorado, even if the experience left him a bit “shell-shocked.”
Given some of the questions he faced from the judges, it was easy to understand why:
“Clearly, this kind of effort will take a lot of resources and a lot of effort by organizations. But if you were given, say, a small amount of $5,000, how might you use that to begin the effort of building the momentum that you know you need to achieve this in?"
"You talked a little bit about government, but I wonder what business partnerships could look like in this solution?"
"Cameron, could you identify more specifically what nonprofits and community organizations that you might enlist in a collaboration to assist in the solution of this?"
The inquiries were intended to get a feel for his passion project, an app that would alert anyone to the danger of natural disasters — anywhere, at any time. The effort was borne from shortcomings that Parker said his family experienced firsthand during 2021’s Marshall Fire in Boulder County.
“I assumed that if there's a wildfire, just like everyone would get the evacuation alerts,” Parker said. “And it was kind of a rude awakening when my dad didn't get the alerts, and he got the alerts from a call with his colleague instead.”
“So if not for that call, he may have been inside his house when the fires came close.”
Parker, who lives in the Boulder area, has taken his plan to the Lafayette City Council, as well as talking with State Senate President James Coleman, and is hoping to raise funding to make his theoretical app a reality. As for those judges at the contest in Washington, D.C.? They thought highly enough of Parker to help him to a top-10 finish in the National Civics Bee, which came with a score of family and friends looking on.
“He's always been an achiever, and this was way above any of our expectations, so it was a blast,” said his father, Jeff.
Parker won local and state competitions to qualify for the national finals. Now a freshman at Centaurus High School in Lafayette, that journey began in middle school, spurred by a favorite social studies teacher. At one point, Parker said his academic interests leaned towards STEM studies, but the civics experience has him reconsidering.
“The reason why I continued with civics is because I think it makes a real impact in the world,” he said. “And the more we care about civics, the more we care about our society as a whole.”
In time, Parker continued, he may put those words into action. If he could find a way to bridge the gaps between the disparate interests that typically roam the hallways of any high school — think jocks, dweebs, glamour queens, etc. — Parker said he might find himself on a ballot for student council, or student body president.
And, given enough time, perhaps some aspiring, civic-minded kid could find his or herself meeting with Mayor Cameron Parker.
“From here? My first priority is getting through high school,” Parker said. “That's a big one.”
