Aldine ISD Students Travel to Washington, D.C., for the Presidential Inauguration

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Over 40 Aldine ISD high school students will get the opportunity to attend the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025. The students, Aldine’s Civic Engagement Department, and Aldine staff, will travel to Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Jan.16, for a momentous experience.

The Civic Engagement Department partnered with the nonprofit Close Up, founded in 1971, which has partnered with schools nationwide, aiming to help young people understand and experience their government. Students with a packed itinerary will spend seven days and six nights in the nation’s capital. Students will see the inaugural address, engage in important government discussions, explore famous monuments, memorials, and museums, and make lasting friendships. For some Aldine students this will be their first time leaving out of Houston and even going on a plane.

Aldine ISD students at the airport headed to Washington, D.C., on January 16, 2025.

Roman Paredes, a senior at MacArthur High School, is eager about the trip and the government

Civic Engagement Ambassadors: Roman Paredes, Yoselin Hernandez, Lacinda Gonzales-Hernandez, and Christopher Morales Gonzalez at a Tress for Houston event.

knowledge he’ll obtain.

“This is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I am extremely grateful to have been given,” Paredes said. “I hope to gain more experience on how to have civil interactions when discussing politics, as well as the potential to meet new people with motives similar to mine.”

The students represent six Aldine high schools: Aldine HS, Blanson CTE HS, Davis HS, Eisenhower HS, MacArthur HS, and Victory Early College HS. They were selected to participate in the trip based on their involvement in the Civic Engagement Ambassador Program, which falls under the Civic Engagement Department and started as a pilot program at MacArthur and Aldine HS. The ambassador program aims to get young people involved in their community through outreach, volunteering, and voting.

Paredes said he doesn’t take the trip lightly and feels proud to represent Aldine in Washington, D.C. 

“This opportunity benefits all Aldine students and Aldine ISD as a whole by allowing for the representation of our otherwise overlooked community in the greater Houston area,” he said. 

Daniel Meza, the civic engagement department specialist, said students have shown great excitement

Daniel Meza, the civic engagement specialist, with students at Blanson CTE.

about being in the program and all the skills they are gaining.

“A positive outcome of this program is that the students share their experiences with their parents, peers, and others in their network,” he said. “It is getting more people interested and primed to participate, and I’m hoping the student’s experience in D.C. will continue to heighten others’ curiosity about Civic Engagement.” 

Click here to learn more about the Civic Engagement Department.