Following Thanksgiving, eighteen Brother Martin juniors and seniors accompanied Mr. Christopher Vicknair and Mr. Mark Wisniewski ‘81 on the annual Close Up trip to Washington, D.C. and Williamsburg, VA from November 26 to December 3, 2016. The trip is sponsored by the Close Up Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan civic education organization. Through site visits, lectures, and workshop activities, high school students learn the political process and are encouraged to develop their own political efficacy. Highlights of the trip included Capitol Hill Day, where Close Up students visited their state’s congressional delegation and saw government at work. This year, Crusaders were welcomed to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise’s offices where Mitchell Shea ‘10 introduced the Crusaders to Congressman Scalise and guided them on a tour through the Capitol building. Rep. Cedric Richmond and Senator Bill Cassidy also met them and answered questions. Additionally, the Crusaders enjoyed an evening at the theater by seeing “A Christmas Carol” at historic Ford’s Theatre. In addition, students were also able to meet with other alumni from the D.C. area to discuss career opportunities and current events. Mr. Mark Wisniewski ’81 and Mr. Christopher Vicknair also updated guests on school activities and answered questions about Brother Martin.
The Close Up Trip is offered to students in November of their junior or senior year. For more information or to reserve your place for the 2017 trip, contact Mr. Christopher Vicknair, cvicknair@brothermartin.com.
Click name below for a collection of reflections from Brother Martin participants:
Close Up offers the unique opportunity to meet students from around the country. Along with students from Brother Martin, students from Ursuline Academy and the Shreveport area, as well as students from Utah, Illinois, California and Puerto Rico attended the Close Up program in DC. As a result of students coming from such diverse backgrounds, they were able to come together and share their opinions, and ultimately everyone gained a new appreciation for different views on current events.
Personally, meeting people from around the country was the best part of my Close Up experience. Without a program like Close Up, I would never have been able to meet so many people who, by the end of the week, I called my friends. The connections everyone made on the trip with one another created an environment where everyone felt comfortable and even proud to share their opinions and to make their voices heard. In the end, I learned so much from the people with whom I was surrounded.
–Dillon Delaune ‘18
When I first heard of the Close Up program, I didn’t think I would like it because it sounded like something only APUSH (Advanced Placement US History) students would enjoy. However, after discussing with my sister, a Close Up alumna, her thoughts on the program, she told me about all her life-changing experiences on the trip and described it as, “a trip you will never forget.” Despite all of my skepticism, I told Mr. Vicknair I would sign up for the program. From the moment I signed up until I arrived at the airport, I didn’t know what to expect. I was going to meet other high school students from across the country who had completely different views than me. I feared that I would struggle to involve myself with lack of extensive knowledge in history. After attending the Close Up program, it definitely was an unforgettable experience that changed my views on politics.
After attending my first workshop, I didn’t feel intimidated anymore. I met 25 other students who also didn’t have an extensive knowledge of history. I realized that this program was designed for all types of students who simply wanted to learn about American democracy. The whole week was centered around the ‘political efficacy’ scale. Basically, political efficacy is a person’s belief in whether or not they can influence and understand political affairs. After the week, everyone in my workshop’s political efficacy had changed by the end of the week. Throughout the week these workshops helped me realize that everyone’s different political views and background help contribute to our democracy. I didn’t feel intimidated because of the workshops that Close Up organized. The best part of Close Up had to be the people. I met high school students from across the country who had the same or different political views. Overall, the Close Up program was an unforgettable experience because I realized my political efficacy and met high school students across the country with different backgrounds that helped contribute to my understanding of American democracy.
—Omar Ahmad ‘18
My favorite part about the Close Up program was meeting different people from across the United States. We were sharing a hotel room with two students from Utah.The next morning we were split from our Brother Martin friends and were placed into different workshops where we participated in icebreakers so we could meet the other people in our group. As the week progressed, I got to know the other students better. We talked at breakfast, comparing life in rural Utah to Puerto Rico to New Orleans.
–Jeremy Baier ‘18
Though I feel that I have a strong grasp of my place in the American system of politics, I found that the Close Up program was a strong reinforcement of the need for a younger voice to be present in the current system. Although the main focus of the program was to increase our personal knowledge of where we stand as a nation and as a generation beginning to vote, I found that the trip also provided a chance to view alternative opinions of other teens from around the country. From areas like Utah, Texas, California, and even Puerto Rico, I was exposed to different thoughts about the place of government in our everyday lives. Comparing our situations and viewpoints through the program allowed us to easily understand how others felt and how to respond when faced with opposing ideas.
–Jackson Vicknair ‘18
I felt that Close Up gave me a unique opportunity not only to look at different political views of people from around the United States, but also to experience their religious customs and the cultural differences they had. My favorite part of the trip was the visit to meet our State Representatives since I was able to meet the people I voted for, or the people who ran against them. By looking back on the trip, my favorite place that I visited was the Holocaust Museum because of my interest in World War II history. I believe the most important thing that I took away from the trip was a better understanding of how the government was created and the events in history that shaped it.
–Steven Fletcher ‘17
