MVHS Students Attend Presidential Inauguration

A group of five Moapa Valley High School students traveled to Washington D.C. in order to attend the Presidential Inauguration on Tuesday, January 20. MVHS students, Olivia Dominguez, David Preciado, Ben Paul, Cody Nichols and Erica Alvidrez accompanied teacher Charlie Cooper to Washington D.C. for what was nothing short of an educational trip.

The trip was funded in large part by MVHS Empowerment funding. “Without the additional funding

The group flew out of Las Vegas on a red eye flight Saturday, January 17. With a bit of a ticket situation Paul ended up on a different flight which arrived nearly an hour later than the rest of the group. Once Paul was in hand the group headed to the hotel.

Sunday was a busy day for the group as they toured the Capitol Building, National Archives, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, and Mount Vernon. The kids all agreed they had a new found appreciation for history after seeing these sites first hand. The day was definitely filled with learning and fun to boot.

Tuesday began early for the group, waking at 4:00 a.m. to sit in traffic for over an hour and then stand in line for nearly five hours waiting to get into the Inauguration.

“It was freezing,” stated Dominguez. “I can still feel the cold.”

Paul used his cell phone to look up the weather stats which indicated 21 degrees in the sun; and it was windy too.

After getting close to the gate the crowd began to push forward, so on went the group. After getting through the gate they realized they had stepped over what had once been the barricade.

The group finally made their way in and got to stand near the reflecting pool during the inauguration. Paul and Alvidrez made their way to the end of the reflecting pool which gave the two a much better view where they were able to hear the speakers. The others were in an area in which they had sound trouble and couldn’t hear. Cooper actually phoned the school and as the students at MVHS watched the Inauguration on television he and the other students listened through his cell phone from the reflecting pool.

After nearly 10 hours of excitment the group was ready to get back to the hotel and rest.

Wednesday the group headed to the Holocaust Museum where they waited in line for over an hour. “It was worth it,” they all agreed. “One more day of museums would have been the coup de grace,” stated Mr. Cooper.

As the students reminisced about the trip they shared their ideas of what the trip meant to them. Nichols really enjoyed Mount Vernon, “he is a Founding Fathers fan” stated Cooper.

Alvidrez had been to D.C. six years prior but was excited to see more this time. The Holocaust Museum was especially meaningful to her.

Paul called the Inauguration “intense” and recalled that President Obama looked the size of an ant from where he stood. Paul commented that the trip made the Government “real” to him, “these are real people” he said.

Preciado had quite the experience having never been east of Utah before. He hated the airplane ride but enjoyed himself once on the ground. Preciado said the Holocaust Museum was one of his favorite parts of the trip.

For Dominguez the Arlington National Cemetery and the Holocaust Museum were her favorite parts of the trip. “It really hit me seeing these things, it made me more aware of the heros who fight for our freedom” she said.

Alvidrez described the Inauguration as “crazy”, “there were so many people” she recalled. Alvidrez said it was an “amazing experience”.