Schools
Watsonville Students To Travel To D.C., Interview Leaders
As practice, students interviewed former Assemblymember John Laird, who is running to serve the Central Coast in the state Senate.
WATSONVILLE, CA — Mount Madonna School upperclassmen are gearing up to travel to Washington, D.C., and interview public and private sector leaders this spring.
Juniors and seniors will head to the nation's capital as part of the Values in World Thought program, a two-year program that also includes a trip to India or South Africa, according to the school's website. Students have interviewed figures such as the Dalai Lama, Desmund Tutu and Senator Bernie Sanders.
To gear up for their trip to Washington, students interviewed California State Senate District 17 (Central Coast) candidate John Laird, who represented the Santa Cruz area in the state Assembly from 2002 to 2008. He served as state Secretary for Natural Resources under former Gov. Jerry Brown from 2011 to 2019.
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Students discussed issues related to climate change, wildfires, LGBTQ and more, according to a press release from the school.
"He brought us along with him in his stories and kept us involved every step of the way," said junior Kira Kaplan.
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Junior Amy Bharghavan said she found the visit with Laird rewarding, as she hopes to eventually serve the public by working in politics.
Students will travel to Washington, D.C. in May.
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