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Students make the most of D.C. trip

Cindy RamunnoVail, CO Colorado
Special to the Daily
ALL |

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Fourteen lucky Eagle Valley High School students visited Washington D.C. last month. Now that they are back, they can’t contain their excitement as they share their experiences with fellow students, parents and the community. Many activities and sightseeing events were packed into five short days, and teacher Ashley Weaver says that it was a trip the students won’t soon forget.”The kids had an amazing experience and were up for anything despite the rain, wind, sleet and snow,” says Weaver. In addition to the students, two other chaperones – teachers Becky Peterson and Amy Niswanger – went, and Weaver says that all of the students behaved maturely and were sincerely interested in learning about Washington D.C.The group consisted of mostly seniors – Adam Asavei, Alex Dorothy, Ashley Fahrenholtz, Kyle Green, Sarah Hoza, Evan Kutnicki, Addie Lagaci, Michelle Parmenter, Megan Struve, Mike Smith and Heidi Torres. Juniors Emily Lorenzi, Nick Whitehead and Mikeila VanDyke rounded out the group

Some of the highlights of the trip included Georgetown, Arlington National Cemetery, the National Cathedral and the Pentagon. The World War II Memorial made a huge impact on senior Kyle Green.

“We saw an elderly man that couldn’t walk using an electric wheelchair. As he approached the section of the memorial where there is a star for every 1,000 men who lost their lives, the man stood up and saluted it,” says Green, adding that it was extremely difficult for the man to stand at all. “I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.”Junior Nick Whitehead said the Holocaust Museum struck a nerve with him. “Seeing the effects of the Holocaust in that environment was powerful,” he said. “It was so sad.”



Each student ended paid about $1,100, for the trip. For Weaver, it was her second trip to the nation’s capital – her first was during her junior year in high school. “We packed so much into that time, I was beginning to feel bad at the end of the trip that we were trying to do too much,” Weaver said. Yet each time she gave the students an opportunity to hang out at the hotel or watch a movie, they nixed it. “They always chose the ‘Washington/touristy’ thing to do,” she said.

Although the trip had obstacles – such as foul weather and canceled events – to overcome, Weaver was glad they went ahead with it as students are still discussing the city, the sites and the many moments they shared.”The students became very adept Metro users as that was our main form of transportation, other than walking and running,” Weaver said.


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