Over a dozen American Fork High students raise money to attend presidential inauguration


4 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

AMERICAN FORK — Eighteen students, part of the student council at American Fork High School, are packing their bags so they can attend the presidential inauguration.

It is a big undertaking — all paid for by the students themselves — at a cost of about $3,000 per student.

As crews prepare our nation's Capitol Building for the inaugural ceremony, the high school students are also preparing, anxious with anticipation.

"I'm super excited, a little nervous, too,” said 10th grade student Bronson Horne. “We've had this planned out for a long time.”

The trip was planned last spring, before the candidates were even decided upon and well before President-elect Donald Trump won the election.

"He's our president and I support him,” said 11th grade student Jonah Armstrong. “If Hillary (Clinton) would have won, I would support her, too."

The students completed numerous fundraisers to pay for the trip, including going door-to-door and offering to scrub garbage cans.

"At the end, I just walked home, I couldn't get in anyone's car. It was that bad," Armstrong said.

Of all the schools attending from across the country, American Fork High School has one of the largest groups.

"Our school's never done anything like this before," said American Fork High School student body president Madison Flinders.

The inauguration of a new president simply requires repeating a 35-word oath. But we all know it's much more than that. And for more than a dozen Utah students heading to Washington, D.C. next week, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. (KSL TV)
The inauguration of a new president simply requires repeating a 35-word oath. But we all know it's much more than that. And for more than a dozen Utah students heading to Washington, D.C. next week, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. (KSL TV)

They won't be the only Utahns at the event. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir will perform at the swearing-in ceremony.

“It made me feel so happy and almost at home," Flinders said about having the choir at the inauguration.

Above all, the trip is a civics lesson, watching the peaceful transition from one presidency to the next.

“I feel honestly very privileged that we, out of all the people in Utah, are able to go and witness and represent Utah," Flinders said.

The students will be in for a good show. Trump's Presidential Inaugural Committee has raised a record $90 million dollars.

The students fly out Sunday morning. Their first stop will be New York City before heading to Washington, D.C.

Contributing: Xoel Cardenas

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahEducation
Ladd Egan

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast