Tanner Thomassen, Ryan Reeves, Alyssa Allen, Shayna Schultz, Andrea Gillen, Courtney Haggard, Lorenzo Silva, Brendon White, Hailey Reed, Joel Cole in Washington D.C.
The Wrangell students who attended this year’s Close Up have been working hard for two years raising money with the support of the community and their families. This year 10 high school students, all juniors, traveled to Washington DC, Philadelphia, Penn. and New York City March 24 - April 2.
It was an exciting week to be in DC with the Supreme Court hearing the health reform case and the Committee on the Judiciary hearing to examine the Special Counsel’s report on the prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens. The students participated in a mock congress, heard a domestic issues debate between a liberal and conservative and toured major memorials, monuments and Smithsonian museums. They also spent a day in Philadelphia visiting the Constitution Center, Liberty House, Benjamin Franklin’s grave and seeing the Liberty Bell.
In New York City the students were able to tour the United Nations, visit Ellis Island, the Statute of Liberty, walk the Brooklyn Bridge and Wall Street, and visit the newly opened 9/11 memorial and go to Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.
Each student was asked if they could return to DC and New York City to visit one thing, what would it be. After much thought because it was so hard to narrow down, they came up with the following: Alyssa Allen – the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum; Joel Cole – Arlington Cemetery and Phantom of the Opera; Andrea Gillen – Top of the Rock; Courtney Haggard – Phantom of the Opera and the Korean War Memorial; and Haley Reed – Phantom of the Opera; Ryan Reeves – Top of the Rock; Shayna Schultz – Top of the Rock and Phantom of the Opera; Lorenzo Silva – the Lincoln Memorial, Top of the Rock and Arlington; Tanner Thomassen – the Jefferson Memorial and Top of the Rock; Brendon White – Phantom of the Opera.
Close Up is a nonprofit, non-partisan citizenship education organization. It was founded in 1970 and has worked hard to promote responsible and informed participation in the democratic process through a variety of hands-on educational programs.
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