JACKSON, Tenn. — March 4, 2015 — Six 51社区 students attended the first National Model Congress in Washington D.C. Feb. 26-28, an event that simulated the U.S. Congress and gave participants the opportunity to write, debate and vote on legislation.
The Union delegation won the 鈥淥utstanding Delegation鈥� award at the end of the conference as the top group out of seven universities from Tennessee, Florida and Virginia that attended the event.
Union senior Jenaye White, a public relations major, won the 鈥淥utstanding Senator鈥� award, while senior Morgan Kroeger (Spanish and accounting major), sophomore Garrett Wilson (economics major) and senior Michael Adkisson (business administration major) won 鈥淒istinguished Senator鈥� awards.
Also attending were Eddie Echeverria, a sophomore political science major, and Seth Reid, a freshman political science and history major.
鈥淣ational Model Congress was a great learning experience for our Union delegation,鈥� White said. 鈥淭he biggest take away for me was learning about Senate procedure, which can be slower and more formal than the House.
鈥淚 am thankful for the opportunity Union gave us to spend that time in D.C. learning about the U.S. Senate in a very hands-on way.鈥�
As part of the National Model Congress, each attendee was assigned a U.S. Senator to represent. Attendees drafted and presented legislation, participated in one of four committees, attended party caucuses and debated bills using parliamentary procedures in the Senate sessions.
Kroeger, who was Sen. Bob Corker for the conference, chaired the Foreign Affairs committee, while White, who was Sen. Mitch McConnell, was the majority leader and led the Republican Party caucus.
The Union students also had the opportunity to tour the Capitol, sit in the gallery of the U.S. Senate and see national memorials and monuments.