UPIKE takes on Washington
0Written By Danielle Upton
In January, a group of 12 students will be going to Washington, D.C. for a seminar. These students applied for this trip through an annual essay contest. While the students are there, they will spend two weeks hearing speakers and visiting institutions and other sites in D.C. such as embassies, private companies, the capital, and others. The students also are applying for tickets to the presidential inauguration in January. “This program started in 2004. The Appalachian College Association received a grant and invited the ACA schools to nominate students then they select faculty to accompany students. I was selected, and two students and I went to D.C. I have been a part of the program ever since,” said Nancy Cade, chair of the division of social sciences. “ACA had two grants, and they expired in 2007, so now there is a scholarship arrangement for all students to go on the Fred W. Myer, Jr. Washington Center Scholarship.” The program makes an impact. “Washington Center’s Motto is Experience Transforms; all the students that have been to this seminar, I have seen a change in them. They discover a confidence in themselves that profoundly changed them. Even though the seminar is only two weeks, it is an intense program,” said Cade. “I encourage students to apply for this program. It is available to anyone with any major not just political science.” The students participating in this program are: Ian Adkins, Haley Damron, McKenzie Gibson, Bethany Jervis, Stephanie Lance, Devon Sgubin, Lukas Hartlage, Dalton Hatfield, Kyle Newsome, Ethan Tackett, Buddy Forbes, and Thomas Francis.