Bonners Ferry High School group gets first-class
tour
of Washington, D.C. |
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March 16, 2018 |
Eight Bonners Ferry High School students had the
opportunity of a lifetime when they traveled to
Washington, D.C. March 4 - 9 on an in-depth tour
of our national capitol. Gina Brown and Tyler
Warner, teachers at Bonners Ferry High School,
accompanied the students on the trip.
The students who made the trip were: Abigail
Gorton, Brandon Beckle, Michael Cardinal,
Michaela Worley, Bailey Jenkins, Katie Onstott,
Gracie Jones, and Reece Bell.
The students met other high schoolers from
across the country with a group called CloseUp
in a week-long program designed to educate
students on civic participation and topics in
American history and government. CloseUp,
established in 1977, is a non-partisan,
non-profit organization that has been providing
students with opportunities to explore
Washington, D.C. through in-depth workshops and
experiences.
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Highlights of the trip included discussions and
analysis of the Vietnam Memorial, Washington
Monument, Martin Luther King Memorial, Arlington
Cemetery, the White House, and others. They were
also able to visit a handful of museums,
including the United States Holocaust Memorial
and Museum where they were able to meet and
visit with Marty Weiss, an 89-year old survivor
of both the Auschwitz and Mauthausen
concentration camps.
"I learned a lot," said Michael Cardinal, one of
the students who went on the trip. "I went on
the trip last year, but there is always much
more to see. It was great seeing the gears of
Congress at work and seeing the patriotism the
city embodies."
The banner moment of the trip was a day spent on
Capitol Hill meeting with Idaho representatives
and their staff. The Bonners Ferry students were
able to visit for half an hour with
Representative and Idaho gubernatorial candidate
Raúl Labrador and ask him questions about his
perspectives on national issues as well as
questions about his current campaign. Senator
Mike Crapo’s staff also hosted the group and at
Senator Risch’s office they were greeted by BFHS
graduate Ayla Neumeyer who talked to them about
her duties working for the senator. The day also
included a tour of the U.S. Capitol building, a
trip to the Supreme Court, the Library of
Congress, and lunch in the Senate cafeteria.
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Aside from the official visits and events
arranged by CloseUp, the students and their
teachers found time to work in additional events
and sightseeing. A special visit was arranged to
the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum. "That
trip was actually one that Mrs. Brown and I did
with the kids on our own. The program ended
officially on Thursday, but we believed in the
importance of that particular museum and really
wanted the kids to see it. We actually gave them
an option because our flight schedule on Friday
only allowed for one museum. The kids really
wanted to see the USHMM, which we were glad for.
We also had a brief window at the end of the day
for the Smithsonian Museum of Native American
History."
The students would like to extend their thanks
to Idaho Forest Group, which made a significant
donation that went to every student to help them
afford the costs of the trip. Students also
worked to help earn money they would need.
"Several of the kids took turns running
concessions this fall and winter," said Tyler
Warner, one of the teachers who accompanied the
student group to Washington. "We worked a lot of
volleyball games, wrestling tournaments, and
basketball games to raise funds through the
school."
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