Close Up: Bellaire High School Students Travel to Washington, D.C.

Seniors Neil Luo, Marco Ling, Lawrence Chen, Barik Chaudry, Victoria Wei, Kevin Xie, Claire Weddle, Paul Kim, Michael Atkins, Eric Vallejo

Most school field trips to Washington, D.C. consist of the classic memorial tours and monument visits. However, Bellaire High School students went beyond the average visit to our nation’s capital. We travelled to the capital through the program Close Up, an organization that strives to educate young people about their responsibilities in America’s democracy.

We arrived in the evening on Sunday, Jan. 18. When we got to the hotel, students from all over the country - Louisiana, Florida, Michigan, California, Georgia, and other schools in Texas - were already there waiting for us. My roommates were from Louisiana, and we became close as the trip progressed. We were divided into workshops, which were made up of students from each state. Whenever we were out in the city, we travelled with our assigned workshop, and became close with the people in our individual groups.

Of course, we still visited all the memorials to the wars and the monuments to past presidents such as Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As we visited the different sites, we were provided with a notebook that gave us a certain assignment. While we were visiting the war memorials, it was very solemn to see all the names of the people that died for the cause. We were to write down our thoughts and certain quotes that caught our attention. Throughout each day, we were always busy, whether it was monument visits or listening to lectures. Even on the bus rides, we had group discussions with our workshops. The wake up times were usually before 7 a.m. and most people did not make it back to their rooms until 11 p.m. Although the days were exhausting, senior Narain Reddy said that the trip was worth it.

“Waking up early in the morning was always a drag, but coming downstairs to eat breakfast and seeing everyone was energizing because of all of the friendships that we formed,” Narain said.

Besides all the sightseeing, on Wednesday, we got to go to Capitol Hill and meet our district representative John Culberson. Most of us got to shake his hand, and he talked with us for about half an hour. It was interesting to stand only a couple of feet away from the person who represents us and get to listen to his opinions, whether we all agreed or not.

On another night, the 200 Close Up students at our hotel formed a mock Congress to simulate what happens in a typical congressional session. I got to act as a lobbyist on the issue of insurance of contraception, and other students acted as lobbyists for other issues ranging from gun control to immigration reform. Coincidentally, we were in Washington D.C. on the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision, so we got to see and actually walk in the March for Life protest on the streets of the city. Whether we supported the decision or not, it was the first time for many of us to actually participate in a protest, a right protected by the First Amendment.

One thing that we all carried home from Close Up was the realization we are lucky to come from such a diverse community like Bellaire High School because not all other schools are as diverse as we are. As we travelled home on Jan. 23, it felt bittersweet to all of us. It was nice to be going home, but we would miss Washington D.C. While we were there, we formed friendships for a lifetime with people from all over the United States, and we learned how to keep our American democracy alive for the future. 

“I feel like Close Up has made me value democracy, value relationships with my peers, and value leadership,” said Nirmal Patel, a senior. “I think we all have greatness that just needs to be brought out within ourselves. Close Up has definitely taught us that.”