Students give Founding Forward Trip recap

By Alan Carman
The Imperial Republican
    A large group gathered at the Imperial Theatre on Monday evening, April 13, to hear how the trip went for the students from Chase County.
    The students told how they got in the bus on day one very early and it was pretty quiet, but by the time the flight had arrived in Philladelphia, all eight students were beginning to bond together and become friends.
    They arrived as the second to last group to arrive and found it a little uncomfortable to meet a bunch of strangers. James Bomba noted that it was strange to get called a Nebraska farmboy, when that is definitely not what he is.
    The group got divided into seperate groups, so nobody got to stay together during the day.  On day two at Valley Forge, they strive to seperate the students from the people they know to make new relationships.
    The students would regroup for lunch and dinner each day, which they really looked forward to. Tucker mentioned that he joined a group for a running club that was all mormans. He soon found out that they were all cross country runners and he was not and they were also running a 5K.
    They all mentioned that it was akward at first learning how to meet and talk to new people, but it eventually became much easier.
    They all split up into different committees. There were many different activities that they would not have ever done on their own, but they all grew to enjoy them.
    On day four, the final day at Valley Forge, it was time change which lost the group another hour on top of the two hours they lost to time zones. That made everyone extra tired, plus they mentioned the beds at Valley Forge or like sleeping on rocks.
    They visited China Town and discovered that the snacks from China do not hold up to American snacks.
    That night they boarded the AMTrack Train to Washington D.C. The host’s, Logan and Brianna Pribbeno, took the students to a chocolate shop and dinner at Capitol Grill. During dinner, the Pribbeno’s asked Jefferson questions that forced the students to think and answer with an insightful answer. All the kids expressed gratitude for the nicest dinner many of them had ever experienced.
    The Oden family sponsors another dinner as well as Brad and Jill Moline, who sponsor one.
    The crew stated how beautiful Washington D.C. was. This group visited more museums than any other group has ever done.
    All the students agreed that one of the most touching museums was the Holocaust Museum. Seeing all the tragic happenings that occured during the Holocaust touched them all deeply.
    When the group made there way back home, they had made a bond that would last a lifetime. What had started as a bunch of students that new of each other but didn’t really know each other, ended up as a group of students that will be bonded forever.
    The students got together at prom for a group picture and are also talking about a ten year reunion trip.
    Overall, the trip teaches so much more than just the history of America. It gives life lessons in how to interact with different groups of people, how to navigate in unfamiliar places and how important getting to know someone is.
    All-in-all, the trip was a huge success in doing all of those things for the group. Hopefully some of the underclassmen attended the presentation and will be inspired to try out for a spot in upcoming trips.