Emily Brubaker, National Civics Bee Winner | Every Little Bit
7/14/2025 | 2m 6sVideo has Closed Captions
Emily Brubaker won the first National Civics Bee in 2024 and is an advocate in Washington, D.C.
Eighth-grader Emily Brubaker won the first National Civics Bee in 2024. Despite not knowing the meaning of the word civics at first, she has been practicing civic responsibility most of her life. She is an advocate in Washington, D.C. for the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act, which would close a loophole that exempts insurance from paying for dental procedures caused by congenital anomalies.
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Every Little Bit is a local public television program presented by AK
Emily Brubaker, National Civics Bee Winner | Every Little Bit
7/14/2025 | 2m 6sVideo has Closed Captions
Eighth-grader Emily Brubaker won the first National Civics Bee in 2024. Despite not knowing the meaning of the word civics at first, she has been practicing civic responsibility most of her life. She is an advocate in Washington, D.C. for the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act, which would close a loophole that exempts insurance from paying for dental procedures caused by congenital anomalies.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipThe grand prize winner of the first National Civics Bee award is Emily.
I honestly thought I wasn't going to get it.
I didn't really know.
I just didn't have very much faith in myself at that moment.
My name is Emily Brubaker.
I'm 14 years old and I'm from Anchorage, Alaska.
I first found out about the civics fee from my mom.
She showed me a little application form and she said, Emily, you should really try out for this.
You already know a lot about civics.
I had no idea what civics even is.
Then she said, you've been going to Washington, D.C. and advocating for the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act.
That is a bill that would amend federal law and make it so that those with congenital anomalies would have their procedures and surgeries affecting their condition covered by medical insurance.
I have a congenital anomaly.
I have a condition called Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia, which affects my hair, skin and teeth.
When I'm older, say 18, I will have to get a lot of dental work done, which would cost my family upwards of $100,000.
The Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act, or the Civil would close the loophole in federal law that allows these insurance companies to deny coverage.
Being a citizen has a lot of responsibilities, and in order to be a good citizen, you should definitely fulfill those responsibilities.
Voting or just participating in your government in any way, whether it's local, state, or even federal, all of those are very important things that you can do to participate in your government.
And by participating in your government, you can be an active citizen.
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Every Little Bit is a local public television program presented by AK