Maria Goes to Washington

In late October, three FMCS students attended the Junior National Young Leaders Conference (JrNYLC) in Washington D.C. Hereis our first report coming from 8th grader, Maria Swiersz:

My trip to Washington D.C. was the greatest! I learned a lot of history about our nation and how hard many people worked to make it the great country it is today. The Junior National Young Leaders Conference was one of the best experiences I have ever had. The staff at JrNYLC were very good leaders. They did a great job of teaching me how to become a leader who impacts many other people.
JrNYLC was a great conference. When I got on the plane, all of a sudden I got really nervous and scared. Then, when I got to the conference center I was really scared. Once I got in there and checked in, I noticed that the staff was very friendly. I ate some dinner, unpacked, and went to my Leadership Focus Group (LFG). My leader was awesome and my group was great. In LFG’s, we worked on the 6 basic skills of leadership. Each day we chose and worked on one trait. As I learned and analyzed the one trait each day, I learned a lot.

Almost every day we went to a different site or memorial. We went to amazing places. We went into the city, and went to the Library of Congress, Capital Hill, The Newseum, The White House, and The National Art Gallery. We were also able to go to the Lincoln Memorial, The Washington Monument, and the Vietnam and Korean Memorial. My favorite site was Harpers Ferry in West Virginia. We learned about the leader John Brown, and his raid at Harpers Ferry. It was awesome! While we were there we reenacted the raid, and it was VERY cold! The last night we slept over at the Maryland Science Museum. I loved all the sites we saw, and hope to go back and see them again. This was an amazing trip! I learned a lot about leadership. Every skill they taught me I can use here at home for the benefit of others and for the glory of God.