Six students from Wrangell took a trip to Washington, D.C., as part of the Close Up program. The students also traveled to New York City.
Six teens returned to Wrangell on May 2 after nine days in Washington, D.C., and New York City. The trip is part of the national Close Up program which aims to get kids more engaged in the political process.
Along with chaperone Sarah Merritt, seniors Jimmy Baggen, Sophia Hagelman and Tyson Messmer, juniors Paige Baggen and Ashleigh Loomis and sophomore Sierra Hagelman were able to visit sites of historic interest, meet with and hear from various political leaders, and participate in lively debates.
The program and trip has been in Wrangell since the 1970s, after Close Up was established in 1971 to show students they can make a difference. In the past 50 years, more than 900,000 students and educators across the country have been involved in the program.
Merritt, who runs the Wrangell Legislative Information Office, has been teaching the Close Up class and taking students on the trip since 2007. Having gone on the trip as a junior in high school, Merritt wanted to be able to provide the experience for others.
This year's trip was the first in three years due to the pandemic. Each student had to raise $2,400 for the trip, which includes six days in Washington, D.C., and three days in New York City.
Upon arriving, students had dinner, sat through an orientation and workshop and participated in a debate on domestic issues. Merritt prepared her group for the debate by having them form their opinion on the topic of police brutality. They then had to argue the opposite point of view.
It was an exercise that Loomis said opened her eyes to differing opinions and helped her to become less reserved. "It definitely made me more talkative," she said. "I thought, 'No one knows me here. I might as well try.' With the debates, it helps you get out there."
Among the sites visited by the group, the Holocaust Museum had the biggest emotional effect on the students, since they'd been learning about it from Merritt before the trip. They also visited the World War II, Korean and Vietnam War memorials, the Jefferson, Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. memorials, attended a play at Ford's Theater where Abraham Lincoln was shot, and attended congressional committee hearings among many other things.
Merritt said it was the best group she's ever taken, with no complaints heard despite the packed schedule and miles upon miles of walking.
Sierra Hagelman said both the Vietnam War Memorial and the Holocaust Museum were emotional experiences, and the trip overall was truly memorable. She said her advice to others thinking about taking the trip would be to just do it. "Don't be tucked away," she said. "I feel like a lot of teenagers who were there were kind of tucked away, but then the debates brought us together."
The group had a short visit with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, in which she helped them create a social media post about the high school's art class entry in the Vans Custom Culture shoe art design contest. Baggen was one of the students who worked on the art project.
"Paige did a fantastic job when Sen. Murkowski put her on the spot to speak to all the schools and teachers sitting on the Senate side of the stairs outside," Merritt said. Students were able to ask the senator questions on a variety of topics.
Prices on next year's trip are expected to go up by about $170, Merritt said, but if students are considering joining the program, they can lock in the $2,400 rate if they sign up by June. The fee includes housing, but not air fare.
Loomis said it's a trip she will take again if she can and encourages other to do it as well.
"I've always been involved in politics, it's something my parents are passionate about," Loomis said. "I wouldn't say I learned anything new (about the political process), but I did learn to open my mind to different perspectives."
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