An eye-opening trip to the White House in Washington, D.C. was attended by three chosen students from varied backgrounds and grades and two Ritenour staff members.
Sophomore Logan Simpson, senior Kayla Brown, sophomore Ryland Weeks, FACS teacher Beth Seibold, and ELA teacher Christina Melly departed for Washington, D.C. on Friday morning, 8/23.
The trip was originally offered to Melly, who won the 2023 Missouri Teacher of the Year award. The invitation encouraged the celebrated teachers of the year to bring other educators and students with them, so she chose staff and students of Ritenour’s Teach and Lead program to accompany her to the White House’s 2023-2024 school year kick-off.
The group got right to work on Saturday, with the White House being the first stop. They arrived and produced a memory and artifact that will endure forever; sticky notes with wishes and advice for the school year.
Simpson was particularly struck by how much different one of the American icons was in person.
“Wow the White House is tiny,” Simpson said.
After the White House event, there were many things to see and do, including Melly’s favorite restaurant, Busboys and Poets, where one can experience a bookstore that has been converted into a calming dining establishment.
The group also visited many tourist attractions such as the Smithsonian American History Museum, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the MLK Memorial, and the WW2 monument.
“My experience in Washington DC was awesome I got to see so many places where people made history. The Martin Luther King monument was breathtaking to see. He was someone who just wanted equity, and to see how he made such an impact that he got a monument in the country’s capital was definitely inspiring,” Brown said.
Seibold and Melly, the returning visitors to the nation’s capital, were flooded with memories, and the newcomers experienced identical sensations of pride and gratitude as they realized how fortunate they were to be there. The students and staff returned with fresh perspectives and knowledge after a full day of sightseeing and novel experiences.
