Meeting Mr. Zinke in Washington

Six Whitefish Christian Academy students recently got the chance to learn about the nation’s history in person.

Students Alex Wojciechowski, Hannah Amick, Allison Miller, Carson Restivo, Anoush Keuylian, and Maria Frampton, traveled to Washington D.C., last month for a trip to the nation’s capital. During the trip, the students met with Secretary of the Interior and Whitefish native Ryan Zinke at his office at the Department of the Interior building.

For sophomore Maria Frampton, sitting down with Zinke was a reminder that someone from her hometown can make it to Washington.

“It was great to see that someone raised and bred in Whitefish was able to make it to Secretary of the Interior and even beyond hopefully in future years, and it was inspiring for all of us to see that Whitefish has a big impact on the country,” she said.

Freshman Anoush Keuylian said she asked Zinke how he’s advancing the United State’s energy independence.

“He went into a discussion about how important it is and that him and President Trump were thinking and acting on not only energy independence but energy dominance, and how that changes the future for the U.S. and the economy,” she said. “I thought that was really interesting.”

Students said they also spoke about the National Park Service and how Zinke envisions it growing in years to come.

During the trip, the students visited 26 museums, monuments and historical places. Some of the most notable included the U.S. Capitol, The Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Frampton said it’s encouraging that a school as small as the Christian Academy can visit important locations like Washington.

“It was great because we’re such a small school and we have the flexibility to go on trips like that,” she said. “We want to utilize as many years as we have to travel.”

Friends of the academy served as tour guides during the trip. Headmaster George Bristol’s daughter, Cory Bristol, who lives in the area showed students around.

Miller and Frampton also received a tour of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, which they’re considering attending in a few years.

The students pointed to the Holocaust museum and Arlington National Cemetery as two destinations that had an impact.

Freshman Allison Miller said the experience of being at Arlington really put each headstone into perspective.

“Just looking at all of the names on the tombs and reading them. Each one had an individual life,” she said. “You look at all those tombs and it’s hard to see them as individual lives, but once you get past that barrier it’s just a lot more meaningful.”

The trip preceded a study of the founding documents of the United States, which students said was enhanced by their experiences in D.C. Those memories of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and other foundations of the United States will always be special, they said.

“Going to the U.S. Capitol really brought that class to life, and we’ll always have those memories to reflect on when studying U.S. history in our continuing education,” Frampton said.

Prior to the trip, the students and Joy Keuylian, who chaperoned the trip, set up a fundraiser with Mackenzie River Pizza Company. In 45 days, the students raised $10,000 toward the class trip.