Seeing the sights of Washington, D.C., with other youths from across the United States was “truly a great opportunity,” two Hardy County high school seniors said.
East Hardy High Senior Paula Smith and Moorefield High Senior Jacy Barr attended the Foundation for Rural Service Youth Tour in the nation’s capital June 1-5. They were sponsored by Hardy Telecommunications, which paid all basic expenses for the pair.
“I think this is one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had,” Paula said. “Before this trip, I had never been to Washington to tour the city, and now I’m ready to go back again.”
The FRS Youth Tour is designed to teach rural youth about telecommunications while also giving them an opportunity to tour our nation’s capital. The trip included sightseeing as well as a visit to the Federal Communications Commission, where commissioners spoke and answered student questions.
Jacy said the group was able to see many famous landmarks in addition to learning about how small telecommunications companies like Hardy serve their rural communities.
“FRS Youth Tour 2013 was not only a great learning experience but an enormous amount of fun,” she said.
About 100 students from across the United States took part in this year’s tour. In addition to the FCC and U.S. Capitol, the group visited the National Cathedral; Mount Vernon; Arlington National Cemetery; the Smithsonian Museums on the National Mall; the Vietnam, Korean, and World War II war memorials; the Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial; and the Lincoln Memorial.
Both students said the Newseum, a museum dedicated to exploring how news affects our shared experience of historic moments, was especially memorable.
“My favorite part of the trip was definitely the Newseum,” Jacy said.
Paula said the Newseum’s exhibits showing how historic events had been reported in the news was a deep learning experience.
“I liked that I got to see part of the Berlin Wall, lots of artifacts and articles from 9/11, and lots of other stuff from other disasters that have occurred in the United States over hundreds of years,” she said.
Both urged rising juniors to apply for the 2014 tour.
“I made many new friendships and would recommend the trip to anyone!” Jacy said.
“I would definitely recommend this trip to all high school juniors!” Paula said. “… I am so happy that I went. I now have several new friends, and lots of new experiences to tell everyone about. I would like to thank Hardy Telecommunications once again; this was truly a great opportunity!”