Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Students study government close up in Washington, D.C.

By Michelle Alaimo

Five Los Gatos High School students recently visited Washington, D.C., for a week of seeing "democracy in action." The students were able to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the American government operates by participating in the Close Up Foundation government-studies program.

Former LGHS principal Ted Simonson, former vice principal Patti Hughes and secretary Mariellen Furia accompanied students Stephanie Cheung, Francesca Doriss, Jordan Daplan, Trina Mills and Lindsay Norcott as participants in the program.

They spent the week of June 14-20 in the capitol, attending seminars with members of Congress and meeting with a representative of the Washington press corps, lobbyists, government officials and political figures. The group also met with students from around the country in workshops and held daily discussions and activities focusing on current events and on the governing process.

They also visited numerous monuments throughout Washington, including Colonial Williamsburg and the Library of Congress.

Hughes said that all of the students had recently completed an American history class in their junior year and will take economics this fall. "It makes the classes a lot more real for them," Hughes said.

Emerson Shaw, who graduated from LGHS in 1933, sponsors the annual trip. The trip costs $1,500 per person, but Shaw covers all but $600 per person. Juniors must have a B average or better before applying for the scholarship, and only five to six students are selected each year.

"When you leave something like that to a high school when kids are at such an impressionable age, you make a difference," Hughes said regarding Shaw's sponsorship.

In addition to seminars and workshops, the five seniors-to-be spent an evening at the theater, attended a formal banquet and dance and had one day of free time.

[ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ]