By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

The New York Mills High School Close Up group recently visited the nation’s capital, as well as New York City. With 25 students and 10 adult chaperones, each participant was able to see the United States’ government in action, as well as all the sights, sounds and scenes of Washington D.C. and New York City.

“I was most looking forward to going back to D.C. because this was my second time and I was just excited to be there again,” said junior Owen Johnson. “My favorite part was probably the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York—there were so many cool sculptures and different exhibits, it was really cool.”

“I was most excited for New York,” agreed junior Allison Bosworth. “I liked all the buildings, the stores, restaurants, and I liked the people.”

While staying near Times Square in New York City was a big highlight for many on the trip, as well as attending the Broadway show SIX: The Musical, Washington D.C. proved to be quite the sight for many of the students. From the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial and iconic buildings across the capital, each student was able to experience these famous landmarks up close.

“I would say seeing the Lincoln Memorial and just a lot of the memorials there, it’s very historical, so it was really nice,” said senior Dylan Selander of what he looked forward to.

“Seeing cherry blossom trees and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial,” agreed senior Alex Mack. “The Marine Corps Memorial too, just looking around and seeing the giant statue, because you can take it however you want—you can see it as honor, it can be seen as a remembrance for what we’ve done…”

“I would say the most impactful part of the trip was—I think it was our third night we had a night on the town in D.C. and we got to see the Washington Monument at night and it just felt so surreal being there,” said Owen Johnson.

For foreign exchange student, Elsa Dufour, senior, New York City was always on her bucket list of attractions. During her time on the East Coast, however, she found a great appreciation for her host country’s capital.

“I’ve always dreamt to go to New York,” said Dufour. “So that was the big thing I wanted to see, because I had no idea what Washington looked like, so I was excited about New York. I really loved our last night when we went to the Washington Monument and we went at night, so it felt more impressive and we were all happy and excited, it was a good memory.

“I feel like the whole trip was impactful, because you learn a lot of things during the whole trip and I was really surprised by Washington, because I had no idea how it looked like, I really enjoyed it,” Dufour continued. “I think I really preferred Washington to New York.”

Along with the sightseeing which is important to experience, the students also were able to participate with the Close Up program to see the government in action and be able to participate in a mock-congress to be able to understand what the processes of passing legislation looks like in our government.

“The most impactful thing would be our workshops that we had in the evenings, we really talked and opened up with each other and got to know each other,” said Bosworth. “I learned that there’s a lot of steps to it and there’s a lot of people that are a part of it that make a big difference.”

“I learned about what processes it takes to do it,” said senior Harmony Niemela. “I didn’t think that it was going to be that busy in the government, I just thought they were sitting around and processing bills, but it turns out that they were actually pretty busy with different bills that were being passed.”

“Honestly, I would say probably, even though they weren’t the most fun, the at-night workshops and the mock-congress,” said Bella Huwe, senior. “I learned about the current issues that are going on that I didn’t really know about, and I learned more about the process of how a bill goes through and the process of all that.”

“Hearing everybody’s viewpoints and stands on everything, it just helps you see things from a different perspective,” said Selander. “There’s more than just two sides, there’s a lot of discussions that happen and a lot of feelings that go into it and emotions.”

As part of the program, the students were able to participate not only in workshops, but also a mock-congress, where they discussed and voted on the topic ‘Should those 13 years old and younger have access to social media?’

“I think the most memorable thing was the night we have to pretend we were passing a bill, so we had to have a debate about ‘yes’ or ‘no’, you wanted to pass, and people that wanted to speak in front of the whole group,” said Dufour. “I was not expecting that. It was kind of fun and a good experience to do that as I’m not from here, and I was learning about the government and being kind of a part of it.”

“I learned that there are multiple different ways to view things in the government and you can always hear out how other people take the actions of the government,” said Mack.

This year’s group was fortunate to be able to meet three of Minnesota’s top politicians including Senator Tina Smith, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and U.S. Representative Michelle Fishbach.

“Seeing the senators, that was pretty cool,” said Anika Mursu, junior. “Walking around D.C. and seeing all the buildings, I didn’t realize how secure the Capitol building is.”

Angela Paavola, fourth grade teacher, organized the last two years of fundraising and supervised this spring’s Close Up trip. She decided to take the reins from longtime Close Up advisor, Jason Boe, because she likes to support the high school activities as well as stay connected with her students.

“I’ve always taught social studies and I always try to do something in the high school world to stay connected,” said Paavola. “I’ve always been interested in the trip, the social studies side of me would love to see all of that. It’s just amazing, I can’t say enough. The whole high school should go on this trip, all of the students, all of the teachers, it’s such a great trip.”

Paavola explained that though the various sights and destinations all over Washington D.C. were a privilege to go and see, her most impactful part of the trip was seeing the students participate in the workshops, listen and learn about each other, engage in debate, and their critical problem solving skills while in the capital.

“What I saw on the night of their banquet—the kids got up and spoke, their groups talked, they were all together, they’re hugging—I love how much that part affected them. I don’t think they realized how that was going to go, but the whole theme was that everyone has a voice and you should share and you should listen,” she said. “I didn’t realize how they would be impacted by that, and that made me feel good, there was a reason for those workshops. They did all of the arguing, they did the proof, they spoke at the mock-congress and then they voted.”

While this year’s trip is finished and memories abound among the students and the chaperones, sophomores and freshman are invited to get involved in the coming school year as the Close Up group will begin fundraising again next fall. This year’s group wanted to thank the community for their generosity over the last two years of fundraising efforts.

“We want to thank the community for all of their support,” said Paavola. “Every fundraiser they attended, every event they came to and donated, that made this trip happen for all of these kids and it’s a life-changing trip. We had an unbelievable time.”