Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
NR-S students travel to Washington D.C.
The NR-S Close Up trip attendees – front row (from l to r): Ava Bullinger, Kaiya O'Connor, Bailey Jacobson, Abby Nystrom, Claire Becker; back row: Lora Wobbema, Bennett Meier, Kage Walford, Porter Granger and Tillie Swart. Courtesy photo.
Recently, a group of students from New Rockford-Sheyenne got to experience a week-long trip to the country's capital, Washington D.C.
It was all a part of Close Up Foundation, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that facilitates a way for young people to get up close and personal with the nation's capital and its processes of government.
According to their website, they believe a strong democracy requires active, informed participation by all of its citizens.
"For over 50 years, we have partnered with schools nationwide to serve more than one million students and educators through experiential programs in our nation's capital and in local communities, virtual programs, professional development, curriculum and resource design," states their website.
In all, 10 NR-S students accompanied by Amy Cudworth, the district's technology coordinator, made the trip.
Those students include Lora Wobbema, Kage Walford, Bennett Meier, Porter Granger, Ava Bullinger, Bailey Jacobson, Tillie Swart, Kaiya O'Connor, Abby Nystrom and Claire Becker.
The program is open to juniors and seniors, and they each raised money for the trip through various fundraisers throughout the year.
The students were able to see much of Washington D.C., including many of its monuments, museums and of course the Capitol itself.
They made new friends from all around the country, and were even able to meet North Dakota's three legislators in Washington, Representative Kelly Armstrong, and Senators Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven.
NR-S senior Lora Wobbema said the trip was a very positive experience.
Among her favorite moments from the program were watching the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery, spending time at the National Mall, and attending an interactive play.
Outside of the program, the students from NR-S also got to experience an NBA game between the Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets on Tuesday, March 19.
All totaled, it was a unique, fun and educational trip for the students who were able to attend.
Wobbema said that six groups of 25 students from across the country were formed, who would then go off on their respective buses and tour the capital together.
"I had a lot of fun," she said. "We met a lot of people from a lot of different states and made friends with people from New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Louisiana. It was all just really fun."
