We’re very proud of our oldest granddaughter who turned 14 this year. Summer was nominated by her teachers to be a participant in the NJLC (Junior National Leadership Conference). To be nominated, students must show academic excellence, extracurricular or civic involvement and leadership potential.

Our granddaughter, Summer (2007)

Our granddaughter, Summer (2007)

The NJLC is a leadership conference for middle school students that allows them to focus on a certain field of study, learn about it, meet professionals in that field, and explore career possibilities.

The career conference our granddaughter chose to attend was called “Discover CSI: Forensic Science”. She flew by herself and spent 10 days in Washington DC, experienced dorm life on a university campus and had a whole array of experiences. She got to see Capital Hill, the Library of Congress, went to Union Station, the National Mall, the Smithsonian Museum & more.

Her team’s assignment was to solve the kidnapping of a 9 year old child. They attended various lectures and workshops on things like leadership, crime scene processing & how to interview witnesses.

Her review went something like this:

Some of the lectures were boring, they had to take notes, wear “professional” dress most of the time, and her team of 6 guys & 6 girls was not the greatest. They were easily sidetracked, couldn’t agree on things and they talked over each other. She was sure they would have nothing completed in time for the Inquest where they were to give a speech espousing their theories on ‘who did it’. (Hopefully this part got better.)

Her teammates were from CO, CT, OK, HI, CA, MI & etc. She really liked her roommate who was from New Jersey (Summer is from California). One night the two of them stayed up late talking and only got 30 minutes of sleep. They skipped breakfast the next day (which was allowed), but found it hard to stay awake during lectures. She liked her team leader whom they called TL, the food was not too bad, and the weather was hot & humid. They had a dance, a talent show night, and went shopping at a local mall for souvenirs.

With several people to buy for back home, her shopping list for souvenirs was quite long. She got 2 shirts, a bag that said ‘Love’ and one with a ‘Peace Sign,’ a cup holder that said ‘Got Evidence,’ 2 key chains saying: ‘Got Evidence’ & ‘I Love DC’, and a bear dressed as a policeman and one dressed like a criminal.

THANK YOU!

The trip is over now, and she made it home in time to go to her youth group meeting at church. Now I’m waiting to see some pictures and hear…’the rest of the story’. Summer had to raise quite a bit of money to go on this trip. Her mother says she did a lot of babysitting and other jobs to earn some of that money. The rest of the money came from family and friends. Kelly and I would like to say THANK YOU, to all of you who were able to contribute toward her trip.