More than 4,500 middle and high school students and teachers gathered at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, for the first Civics Matters Arizona Summit organized by the Arizona Cardinals. The event was presented by Desert Financial Credit Union and Gallagher. Attendees participated in a range of activities focused on civic engagement and learning about how their voices can impact local, state, and national systems.
The summit featured interactive breakout rooms that provided non-partisan civic education. Students also had opportunities to meet with organizations offering information about programs and career paths related to civics. The Cardinals introduced an online learning hub with modules and courses aimed at expanding civics understanding: civicsmattersaz.com.
Nate Lewis, a junior from Thunderbird Avenue Academy, reflected on the importance of youth participation: “It shows that young people can have a say and young people should get a say. They are still really needed.”
The event included remarks from several notable figures such as Rep. Juan Ciscomani, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill, and tackle Kelvin Beachum—who is also the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient.
Kelvin Beachum addressed the crowd: “I’ve been blessed to understand how important civics is within the locker room. When you think about a unified locker room, you have people that come from all walks of life, people that come from rich neighborhoods, poor neighborhoods, rich schools, Title One schools, but at the end of the day, we all get to come together to fight for one common goal, which is winning.” He shared personal stories about growing up with SNAP and WIC support programs and highlighted his focus on food insecurity through community work.
Congressman Ciscomani spoke about his experience immigrating from Mexico to Tucson and acknowledged challenges faced by many students present at the summit.
Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill discussed his motivation for hosting this event: “It was important to have a summit, bring all of the organizations that are doing something with civics together and to work as a team. I hope they understand that they are the future of our country. They’re the future of our state of Arizona, and it’s important for them to understand it’s about starting to learn now so that they can become better and more engaged citizens as they grow up and start to understand how they’ll engage with our community.”
Gus Medaa—a student participant—spoke about youth involvement in shaping society: “I think it’s very important because we’re the next generation. After our parents, we’re probably going to be the next politicians, lawmakers, and people in legislature. It’s very important for us to know what we’re saying how to convey it in a way that people can understand.”
The Arizona Cardinals regularly engage with youth through various initiatives; each summer they send 275 students on an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C., giving them insight into democracy firsthand.
Founded in 1898 in Chicago before relocating to represent Phoenix—with home games played in Glendale—the Arizona Cardinals are recognized as the oldest continuously operating professional football franchise in the United States according to their official website. The team competes in the NFC West division of the National Football League (NFL) official website.
