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Young Leaders Tour Pentagon During ‘Washington Week'
(March 14, 2009) | 
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| WASHINGTON, March 13, 2009 – American high
school students from around the world toured the Pentagon
today, capping off a weeklong visit to the nation's capital
and what many of them called one of the most exciting
experiences of their young lives.
The 104 students were selected to come here as part of the
47th Annual U.S. Youth Senate Program's “Washington Week” to
see, firsthand, American politics in action. The delegates
were selected among thousands of applicants, all high school
juniors and seniors representing all 50 states, the District
of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education
Activity.
Today, during their Pentagon tour, they walked the busy
corridors and learned the different aspects of national
defense and its history. They also met with Air Force Lt.
Gen. Paul Selva, assistant to the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, who oversees international relations and
political-military matters that require close, personal
control by the chairman.
Their visit also included time at the Senate, the House of
Representatives, the Supreme Court and the White House. They
met congressmen, cabinet members, officials from the Defense
and State departments and a Supreme Court justice. The
student delegates were afforded the opportunity to hear
national and world policy addresses from the political
leaders as well as pick their brains about why they became
public servants.
“We got to see [government] in motion, and it was a great
opportunity,” Michael Boone, student government president of
Kaiserslautern High School in Heidelberg, Germany, and DoDEA
representative, said. “It's a great chance and great
opportunity to meet other delegates and people from around
our nation.”
But the most exciting portion of “Washington Week” was
meeting the nation's president, Boone said.
“My favorite event so far was meeting the president of the
United States,” he said. “So that was quite an honor. He's
my role model, and that was the highlight of my week.”
Luke Moragne, student council president of David Glasgow
Farragut High School in Rota, Spain, and also a DoDEA
representative, said meeting President Barack Obama was the
highlight of his week too.
“[Meeting the president] is a once in a lifetime thing,”
Moragne said. “People always see him on TV, but I actually
got to meet him. It was incredible shaking the president's
hand.”
Moragne said he also enjoyed seeing “government in action.”
He described the responsibilities of congressmen and
political officials as “not an easy task.”
“I've actually gotten to see real senators and an actual
real Senate vote,” Moragne said. His impression is that
“it's hard to be a senator or the president and uphold our
American ideals. You definitely get the impression from
every single person in politics of how smart and sharp and
serious they are.”
For aspiring youth senate delegates who want to participate
in future programs, Boone and Moragne recommend staying
informed on current world issues.
“Be heavily involved in high school,” Moragne said. “Do
every little thing you can possibly do [and] stay up on your
politics. [Student delegates] here actually really love
politics, which is kind of nice and surprising.”
Boone, the son of an Army colonel, hopes to pursue a career
in environmental engineering with the aspiration of helping
to create an environment in which people will live longer
and breathe healthier, he said.
Moragne, whose grandmother works in human resources for the
Navy in Rota, recently was accepted into the Naval Academy
Preparatory School in Newport, R.I. From there, he hopes to
attend the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and eventually
become a Marine Corps intelligence officer or lawyer, he
said.
The U.S. Youth Senate Program began in 1962, and is
sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation with the
hope to increase young Americans' understanding of the three
branches of American government, according to the program's
Web site. The delegates are nominated each fall by their
private or public schools, and must hold student body office
or another elected or appointed position in their
communities and show academic interest and aptitude in
government, history and politics. | |
By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2009
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