Sam Vining is a Civics and AP Government teacher at Watauga High School. Sam also serves as an annual trip coordinator to the District of Columbia for civic-minded students to connect with the national government while also serving as the Civics club sponsor at Watauga High School. Sam received his BA in Social Studies Education from Gardner-Webb University and was the 2018 James Madison Fellow for North Carolina where he received his MA in Constitutional History from Georgetown University/University of Nebraska-Kearney. Prior to Watauga High School, Sam also served as the History Department Chair at Asheville Christian Academy. Sam is a Western North Carolinian with a deep love for public education. Sam’s career goal is to enhance public education, as it is one of the last bastions of democratization in a polarized world. Sam lives in Foscoe, NC with his wife and two-year-old daughter.