LA PLATA, Md. (Jan. 22, 2009)—Two Mattawoman Middle School students, seventh grader Alana Johnson and eighth grader Mallory Jackson, were invited to participate in the Junior Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference (JrPYIC) Jan. 17-21 in Washington, D.C., as Junior Inaugural Scholars.
The conference included middle school student scholars from across the United States and participants were offered the opportunity to take part in events surrounding the inauguration of President Barack Obama on Tuesday, Jan. 20.
Jackson and Johnson, along with the other Junior Inaugural Scholars, were invited to D.C. to watch the inauguration, participate in the inaugural parade, meet White House officials, congressional staff members and political experts, and attend a Gala Inaugural Ball.
The conference provided scholars with a deeper understanding of the history behind the electoral process and traditions surrounding the presidential inauguration.
The JrPYIC is sponsored by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council (CYLC). More than 50 embassies participate in the Council's Honorary Board of Embassies and members of the U.S. Congress have also joined the CYLC's Honorary Congressional Board of Advisors.