“It was amazing, I enjoyed everything about it.”

The Holocaust Museum and the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial were two of my favorite sites to visit, but it was also a special time to be in Washington DC, during the start of the America 250 celebration. The UFC arena was still set up at the White House, and the city was preparing for the celebration by installing flags and banners on many of the buildings. We were there for the Juneteenth celebration, which was very cool to experience. And we got to tour the capital and meet with Senator Ted Budd.

What made the biggest impression on me though was being with people my age from all over the country. We traded pins and learned from each other, and it was so good to hear different points of view. We created a mock co-op water utility, and voted in the board of directors, and kept an eye on operations. My favorite time was one evening we all got together, grouped by states, and had a competition by shouting our states names. Then, we all shouted ‘USA, USA’ together, and we saw how much more powerful we are together, than individually by state.”

— Elisabeth Johnson Stubbs

“What an incredible week.”

The 43 of us from NC felt like family, and in total there were 1700 of us from across the country. I had been to D.C. before, but never to The American History Museum. Each floor has a different focus, and I went to the Presidential section and saw the chairs where Lee and Grant sat when they signed documents signaling the end of the Civil War. And I had never been to the Jefferson Memorial, which is bigger in person, and I enjoyed reading all his quotes, in particular the famous passage that includes ‘All men are created equal’.

I’m going to major in political science and enjoyed meeting Senator Ted Budd. He said if you want to be a politician, you have to make the choice and have to have it in you. You have to want to serve people, and have to want to help us find common ground to be a better nation. That’s why we have politics. I want to serve in local, state and eventually national government, hoping one day to be President, because I want to serve our country and help America be the best it can be.”

— Daniel Bryson Dockery