Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Close-up students reveal adventure

By John Nelson

The Close-up adventure to Washington, D.C., for 2005 is over and the juniors in attendance now have diverse memories they can take with them throughout their lifetime.

Six Gurdon High School juniors boarded an airplane for D.C. on Sunday morning, March 13, from the Little Rock Airport.

They were the 2005 Close-up crew from Gurdon, and returned from their adventure on Saturday, March 19. Close-up, said sponsor Misty Calley, is a national organization dedicated to educating people on the workings of the United States government by bringing them to Congress and the Senate for close up looks at how the sessions are progressing.

Those attending this year from GHS were: Whitney Williams, Jennifer Watson, Jaquaia Dixon, Derek Buck, Summer Dickey and Victoria Allen.

Calley said she has been sponsoring Close-up for three years. She also went as a student twice, while attending Gurdon High School. It is open to juniors and seniors. Last year, 18 attended and the year before there were 22.

The first year I did this as a teacher, we had 16 seniors and six juniors to go, she said. Last year and this year, we have had all juniors. Some schools take freshman.

Calley said Gurdon has had a Close-up program for approximately 30 years. Once in Washington, the days are packed. She said students go to workshops, seminars, monument study visits, and museums  all in D.C. Then they have a Capitol Hill day. Because of strenuous security, they did not visit the White House.

Some years we do. You have to be invited and then it is luck. They did meet with Arkansas representatives and senators this year, she said. The Gurdon students always sit in on at least one subcommittee meeting. Their days begin at 7 a.m. and they are busy until 11 p.m. or midnight, so there is a lot to do. The group had one free day.

But the real story is what the students gained from this trip. The Gurdon Times did a Student on the Streets of Washington, D.C. with all six who made the journey.

Whitney Williams

Q. What did you like the most about your trip? A. My roommates were from Hawaii and I enjoyed the different candies they had and how they dressed.

Q. What sort of politically related activities did you enjoy? A. We got to go to the Senate House and the House of Representatives. We met Representative Mike Ross and Senator from Arkansas Blanche Lincoln. Mark Pryor was on the plane with us to Washington D.C.

Q. What else did you enjoy? A. We asked about the Trio Program, Upward Bound and Talent Search. This was for scholarship encouragement and education on how to reach our goals for higher education. I also liked seeing the historical monuments. My favorite was the Thomas Jefferson round memorial.

Jennifer Watson

Q. What did you like the most about your trip? A. I liked the sightseeing and my Hawaiian roommates. I enjoyed seeing the Franklin Roosevelt and Lincoln memorials. My roommates showed me hats, necklaces, and other jewelry from Hawaii that I liked.

Q. What did you like about your political agenda? A. I learned a lot about state government and that your vote can make a difference. We learned how people vote and how stuff is carried out. I would recommend the Close-up experience to anyone.

Q. What else did you like? A. I liked our tour guides during site seeing. We went to Arlington Cemetery, which was very pretty. We saw the changing of the guards at the Arlington and a funeral in session for a soldier. We saw the horses and experienced the other Arlington Cemetery funeral customs.

Jaquaya Dixon

Q. What was your favorite part, overall? A. Meeting new people. In our hotel, according to Ms. Calley, there were 200 students. And there are usually about six hotels in a Close-up session. I also enjoyed seeing the Lincoln memorial.

Q. What did you learn about American politics? A. It was nice to know we could go to Capitol Hill and see any of the political rooms we wanted to because our folks and other taxpayers are paying for those buildings. They belong to the people. I also liked meeting Blanche Lincoln Lambert and Mike Ross

Q. What else did you like about your trip? A. I liked our bus driver Jimmy, and our Primary Instructor (PI) Katlin. The bus driver got a ticket for blocking traffic for us. Katlin gave us a slogan. She said, Bus 4  Rockin Our Socks Off, was our motto for the trip. I loved that. Our other PI, Krista was nice too.

I also got a Here Comes Trouble shirt from Hawaii for my birthday.

Derek Buck

Q. What was your favorite part of the trip? A. I had an overall fantastic time. I really liked the memorials. I liked the Lincoln memorial, the Jefferson memorial and the Marine Corp. memorial.

Q. What did you learn about politics? A. We got to learn a lot about the ins and outs of the law; about the lay out of the House and of the Senate.

Q. What else did you like? A. I had roommates from Chicago and two from Colorado. I did not get to know them that well but they seemed OK. I liked the people I met from Nebraska. There were eight states represented at our hotel. This trip was not what I expected. It was a really good experience. I learned a lot and I would recommend it to others.

Summer Dickey

Q. What did you like the most about your trip? A. Making new friends. My favorites were the Hawaiin people. They were funny and easy going. I also liked going to the Sheer Madness play, which was a murder mystery in a beauty shop. I enjoyed seeing the Lincoln memorial.

Q. What did you learn about politics? A. I liked going to the Capitol and going anywhere we wanted in there. We toured the capitol offices, the Senate, the House building and the Supreme Court. You could tell they were still in session at the capitol if the flags were still up on top of the building. At night, if the lights are still on in the rotunda they are also still in session.

Q. What else did you like? A. I liked the Arlington Cemetery, but it was sad. We saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also saw Thomas Jeffersons grave.

Victoria Allen

Q. What was your overall favorite thing on the trip? A. Being in my workshops. They were based on political partners learning. When we went through the workshops, we went site seeing and learned about the memorials. I liked meeting all of the people from Hawaii, Minnesota, Chicago and California.

Q. What else did you like? A. My favorite memorials was the one from Iwo Jima and World War II. We went to Chinatown and ate at a different restaurant every day. My favorite was Bucas, where they served Italian food, spaghetti and cookies.

Close-up is an opportunity you should take. You may not get such an opportunity again in your lifetime. You can keep in touch with new friends. I collected 11 addresses and telephone numbers. My birthday is April 4 and I will be 17. I am expecting a presents from my new friends in Hawaii.