Aarit Koul, a ninth grader from Jackson Township, Ohio, won the annual National Civics Bee competition on Tuesday.

A total of 39 state champions competed for the Bill Daniels National Civics Award and a $100,000 education savings prize. The competition took place at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 58% of Americans fail a basic civics test. The National Civics Bee is a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Civic Trust.

Each contestant in Tuesday’s event focused on an issue in their community that they wanted to address and was given time to present their proposed solution to a panel of judges, including last year’s National Civics Bee winner, Emily Brubaker.

The 10 finalists were then narrowed down to five, and quizzed on their knowledge in a lightning round-style competition where they hit a buzzer before answering.

Koul focused his presentation on health care access.

“I think government — all levels of government, local, state and federal — play like a big role in ensuring the public welfare and the general good,” he said, adding that health care is part of that.

Katia San Juan, 13, of Bowie, Maryland, was among the 10 finalists.

The topic she covered was personal: Her younger brother has Type 1 diabetes, and the type of insulin he uses has been discontinued. She suggested working to bring similar versions to market.

San Juan sees a clear connection between the issue and understanding government.

“If there are issues we want to solve in our community, we can use our civic knowledge to ask the government to help,” she said.

At a time when many people are soured on politics, and many don’t vote, Koul was asked about whether studying civics really matters.

“I think our government is for the people, by the people. And this is necessary. Without participation, there would be no republic, there would be no democracy,” he said.

Emmy Award-winning actor and producer Mario Lopez emceed the event and acknowledged how intelligent the students were, joking that he would be getting one of the contestants to tutor his own kids.

Asked if there were any students whose presentations stood out, Lopez said, “Every kid stood out to me. They all seemed passionate about their causes.”

“I think we’re all winners as a society with all these kids,” Lopez added.