Student Advisory Board trip to D.C.
From the Chancellor's Century Council newsletter
“A once in a lifetime opportunity”
CSAB
students with Rep. Henry Bonilla
Twenty-six members of the Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board (CSAB) went to Washington, D.C., Jan. 8-11 to learn about government functions and to meet with officials representing Texas. The CSAB goes to Washington or Austin each spring on trips funded by the CCC.
“The money that was invested in this trip was very worthwhile,” said one student leader. “It has truly inspired me to push even harder to improve my A&M school because of all it does for the students.”
Verna Dewees, assistant vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, and six student affairs professionals from around the A&M System accompanied the group: Don Albrecht (West Texas A&M), Eliot Chenaux (A&M-Corpus Christi), Steve Ransom (Prairie View A&M), Bobby Tucker (Texas A&M), Sandy Rogers (A&M-Texarkana) and Dennis Koch (A&M-International).
The group met with Representatives Chet Edwards and Henry Bonilla, and with legislative aids from the offices of Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, as well as legislative aids from the offices of Representatives Solomon Ortiz, Randy Neugebauer, John Carter, Ralph Hall and Michael McCaul. Key staff from the representatives’ offices provided tours of the U.S. Capitol.
Students also toured the East Wing of the White House and met with the assistant secretary for postsecondary education and the deputy assistant secretary for professional and cultural exchanges with the U.S. Department of State. All the CSAB’s meetings and tours were arranged by Stoney Burke, the Washington representative of the Texas A&M Research Foundation, with the assistance of the A&M System’s vice chancellor for research and federal relations, Dr. Lee Peddicord.
“Our student leaders are the real-world leaders of tomorrow,” said Dewees. “Thanks to the CCC’s generosity, they are able to get a first-hand look at government and come back with knowledge that will help them fulfill their roles on campus as well as prepare them for their careers.”
This was the first trip to the nation’s capital for many of the students. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be on the House floor in the capitol of the world’s greatest nation,” said one participant.
Dewees and the students agree that the trip was a success. One student wrote in the post-trip evaluation that “This trip has allowed us a chance to learn and grow as both student leaders and future world leaders. When we finally leave the comforting, encouraging arms of A&M, I feel that this experience will help guide us on a true path.”
For Dewees and others in the A&M System, that’s what it’s all about.
