Senator Warner met with more than 400 students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology  in Fairfax.

The high school seniors were visiting the U.S. Capitol on a field trip as part of their AP U.S. Government and Politics coursework. In addition to meeting with Senator Warner, the students visited the Supreme Court, got a tour of the Capitol and met with their Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA-8).

TJ is one of the most competitive public schools in the county, so it was not a surprise that these talented students asked in-depth policy questions.  In fact, the first student asked something about complex financial products called derivatives. [For the record, a derivative is a contract between two peopleused to hedge financial risks. It’s not the sort of thing most folks, much less a high school student, would even be aware of!]

When asked about why he got into politics, Senator Warner said that he wanted to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our country, including working to make sure that every student has a fair shot at success. Senator Warner told the group his first two business ventures failed, and he was sleeping on friends’ sofas and living out of his car for a time before be stumbled into the first days of what became the wireless telephone industry. He encouraged the young people to be unafraid to take chances, especially when they’re young. He also encouraged the young people to continue stay engaged in the democratic process.