By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
The big story in the national news last week was the presidential inauguration in Washington DC. A group of students from Moapa Valley High School were there to witness it firsthand.
The group was under the direction of MVHS U.S. Government teacher Charlie Cooper and his wife Alisha. The students began meeting almost 18 months ago to plan and start saving for the 5-day trip to Washington.
Cooper, in his role as government teacher, was approached by WorldStrides, an educational student travel company, about the trip. He decided to offer it to students at the school.
“It’s a really great way to get to go experience this historic event, because the travel company takes care of all the details,” Alisha Cooper said. “They are with you from when you land at the airport until you are back at the airport to go home. They take care of all the transportation, admissions, tickets, and even most of the food.”
Although witnessing the Trump inauguration was the primary purpose of the trip, not one minute spent in the nation’s capital was wasted. Upon arriving in D.C., the group toured the Pentagon, the 911 Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial before checking into their hotel for the night.
The second day was also a whirlwind of activity as the group toured Ford’s Theater and the Petersen House, the Smithsonian American and Natural History Museums, the Holocaust Museum, and the remainder of the memorials they didn’t make it to the day before.
The third day the group rose very early and had breakfast at 5 am before loading the buses to head to the inauguration. The tour company had places for everyone at the inauguration, but the Coopers knew from past experience that those spots would be very far away. So they had written to Nevada Senator Dean Heller for tickets to get them into the much closer ticketed area. They were very excited when Senator Heller was able to come through with tickets for the whole group.
Even in the ticketed area, however, the event was standing room only, leaving the group on their feet for a very long day.
“Even though it was a long, tiring, day, the atmosphere was electrifying,” Cooper said. “The kids loved every minute of it. They had a Jumbotron set up and Presidential trivia going. They also had music and plenty of performers that kept them entertained.”
After the inauguration, the group had some excitement as they skirted rioters and other happenings trying to make it to their meeting place at the museums, which they were planning to tour until dinner. However, due to the crowds and unrest, the museums were closed. So the group proceeded to the restaurant where they were going to eat, arriving 45 minutes early.
Just as they were arriving, they looked down the street and saw flames. A limousine had been caught on fire by protesters. They then saw tear gas and flash grenades before an escaping wave of humanity came rushing toward them.
The restaurant, which was closed during the pre-dinner hours, quickly unlocked their doors and ushered the group into safety, relocking their doors behind them. The Moapa Valley contingent were the only ones from their whole tour group that made it off the mall. All the other schools with the tour company were trapped at the inauguration area until 9:30 that night when they were finally allowed to leave.
“We were safe the whole time, but got to witness the unrest firsthand,” Cooper said. “We felt blessed because if we had been five minutes later we would have been in the middle of it all.”
Saturday and Sunday involved more touring, including the Capitol, Smithsonian Complex, National Zoo and many other buildings.
The trip made a lasting impression on those who went. Kelldan Cooper said, “During the inauguration of 2017, my favorite experience of the trip was watching our new president give his inaugural speech. Witnessing the inauguration was a fabulous experience and I’m glad to have been able to go and see it in person.”
Fellow student Emilie Barrazza agreed, saying, “This trip made learning about history fun. Instead of looking at pictures in a textbook, I got to see things in person.”
“It’s been so much fun,” Cooper said. “The kids were so great. We’re physically exhausted and sleep-deprived, but every minute has been worth it. I think the kids described it best when they said, ‘It’s been the trip of a lifetime!’”
