A group of 14 Mount St. Mary Academy students and two faculty members spent March 1-7 in Washington, D.C., experiencing the institutions and iconic sites that embody our nation’s past and present through the Close Up experiential learning program.
Highlights of the group’s week-long adventure in the nation’s capital included visiting the U.S. Capitol, FBI Headquarters, Washington Monument, Arlington National Cemetery, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and the Holocaust Memorial Museum. In addition to touring landmark buildings and famous monuments and memorials, the students were able to participate in debates and a Mock Congress, discuss current issues with participating students from other states, and meet with U.S. Representative French Hill. They also celebrated Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, visited the Planet Word Museum and explored Georgetown neighborhood during their time in Washington, D.C.
“Close Up shows our students firsthand what they’ve learned in class and gives them the opportunity to fully experience our nation’s capital as well as consider their roles in our political system today and in the future,” MSM social studies teacher and trip chaperone Brendan Britt said. Britt, who participated in Close Up in high school, was instrumental in adding the program to Mount St. Mary Academy’s list of annual educational travel options in 2010.
“The Close Up Foundation truly gives an amazing inner look on the daily lives of people who shape our country,” freshman Dakota Perkins said. “The many memorials and monuments we visited forced us to contemplate what many went through to get our country to its current state. The best part, however, was the friends and memories I made along the way.”
Freshman Rose Trainor Namir shared similar sentiments about the experience. “I really enjoyed getting to know my roommates who were from Puerto Rico, getting to meet new people from across the country, going to the monuments, and getting to meet Congressman Hill. This trip has impacted me by opening my horizons and helping me want to be more involved in my country’s government.”
This is the 15th year Mount St. Mary Academy has participated in Close Up. Using the nation’s capital as a “living classroom,” the issue-centric and nonpartisan curriculum gives participants a deeper understanding of history, government institutions, current issues, and the role of citizens, with the goal of helping help young people develop critical skills for tackling the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. Since 1971, it has served more than one million students and educators from schools around the country through its civic education programs and classroom resources.