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Braving a solo red-eye flight to Washington, D.C., wearing a suit and tie for 10 consecutive days and drafting bills in Congress, be it mock or otherwise, is pretty tough for a sixth-grader. But Patrick May took it in stride, and looked good too.
Patrick, a Willow Glen resident and student at Ida Price Middle School, was nominated to go to the National Junior Leaders Conferences in Washington, D.C., through Lead America. He stayed at the Gallaudet University dormitories in Washington from July 15 through July 24.
"I'm not into politics but I wanted to learn more about it," Patrick said.
The conferences are for outstanding middle-school students. Patrick has a 4.0 grade point average and is involved in the school color guard.
"Patrick is a great student," said Mark Majors, Patrick's sixth grade math, science and social studies teacher. "He is very mathematically minded. He pays attention, does his work and does a superb job."
Majors filled out the recommendation form for Patrick's inclusion in the conference.
Patrick will enter seventh grade in September.
He attended the congressional forum, where he was given the opportunity to learn about congressional simulation, attend leadership workshops, meet with members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, including local Congressman Michael Honda, and tour Washington, D.C.
Patrick also learned about the legislative process including the political, economic and human factors of legislative decision-making.
The highlight of the trip was the opportunity to see the national landmarks.
While there, Patrick nominated his friend and classmate, Ben Levitt, to attend the conferences next year. It's still a mystery to Patrick who nominated him.
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Photograph courtesy of the May family