From practicing governance to serving on the Glenn Heights City Council, Close Up alum Cornel Benford II’s experience as a high school senior in 2002 fueled his commitment to community leadership by connecting him with elected officials and helping him exchange views with students from across the country.           

Growing up in California’s Central Valley as a first-generation migrant student, Elia Quintana never envisioned traveling far from home, let alone getting on a plane. But everything changed during her time at Arvin High School, when she was lucky enough to have two opportunities to attend Close Up programs in Washington, DC—once with her district’s […]

In preparation for his Close Up alumni interview, Patrick Sheehan dug through his memorabilia to find the Close Up Current Issues notebook he used during his January 1994 program. He was encouraged when noting that some metrics have improved since the 1990s (i.e. percentage of children in poverty, percentage of Americans holding a high school […]

Growing up in rural Georgia, Alton Nelson was thrilled when he was offered an opportunity to participate in Close Up’s Washington program as a student at Temple High School. At the time, eighth graders were part of the high school (endearingly called “sub-freshmen”), but this did not deter or preclude Nelson from attending with his […]

From a very young age, Carin Kale wanted to give back to her community. As a child, her mother brought her to the voting booth, showing her how to express her opinion. Since civic engagement was a priority for her mom, Kale learned from an early age how important voting is, and she hasn’t missed […]

On Close Up, Lara Bergthold remembers being with students from other schools and learning about their backgrounds. She remembers visiting Washington, DC, being at the monuments, staying in a hotel, and hearing from speakers. But Bergthold was most excited to hear from women working in DC, and coming to understand all of the barriers they […]

When Sheila Babauta’s high school counselor introduced her to Close Up, she wasn’t sure what to expect from the trip. Her older sister had gone on Close Up, and all she knew was that she would fly very far away and visit a lot of interesting places with her friends. Coming from a small community […]

For Louis Aguirre, the Close Up experience helped bring academics and history off the pages of textbooks and into real life. Hearing from young professionals and learning about their passions helped solidify Aguirre’s aspirations to become a journalist, and seeing artifacts of history first-hand and standing in historical sites had a more profound impact on […]

Bryan Henry began his Close Up experience as a teacher, bringing students from Kingwood High School in Texas. At the time, he was an AP U.S. Government teacher who was focused on helping his students not only pass the AP exam, but understand how to engage with history long after the exam. As an educator […]

Participating in Close Up was the first time Loaitza Esquilin-Garcia traveled without her family, and her first experience on an educational trip. When her brother attended a few years before her, she was not sure why middle schoolers could not attend. Her family emphasized the importance of building her language skills and doing well in […]