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Lofty goals can make a traveler of anyone. Forty Wheatley High School seniors journeyed to Washington, D.C. May 12-15, 2015, for a leadership conference hosted by Close Up, an organization that encourages students to become engaged with democracy. Students applied for the trip by writing essays about Rosa Parks.

While there, the Wheatley students toured Howard University, University of Maryland, and Georgetown University, as well as many of the attractions in the nation’s capital. They saw several historical monuments, explored the Smithsonian Institute, and rode a subway for the first time. The trip was funded by a Texas Title I Priority Schools (TTIPS) grant.

The same grant funded a college tour for 49 Wheatley juniors in March that featured stops at Louisiana State University, Tuskegee University, Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, and Morehouse College.