DAPHNE, Ala.—Daphne High School rising senior Kelsey Shinnick has been accepted into the 2009 Congressional Academy, a two-week scholars program held in Washington, D.C. that focuses studies on the Civil War, civil rights and civic leadership.

Shinnick, 17, is one of 102 students—two from each state and the District of Columbia—chosen for the academy, which runs from June 28 to July 10. Steven Goolsby, of Huntsville, also will represent Alabama at the academy.

The program entails studying three selected historical texts: the Declaration of Independence, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

The program will address the historical and cultural relevance of the speeches and how they affected contemporary society.

Students will attend three daily lectures and will engage in discussions with smaller, focus groups.

However, the program is not limited to the classroom. Students will take field trips to various historic locations around D.C., along with visits to Philadelphia and Gettysburg, Pa.

Shinnick will also be in town in time to see some fireworks.

“We’re going during the Fourth of July so we’re getting to see the fireworks over the Capitol building,” she said.

Shinnick credits her inquisitive essay as the reason for her selection; students were asked, ‘What does it mean to be a good American?’

“To tell you the truth, this question left me quite perplexed,” Shinnick said. “Sure, I’ve studied the moral and religious purposes on which our founding fathers founded our nation and the passion of escaping from Great Britain’s tight grasp.

“I’ve stayed up late at night analyzing Lincoln’s great speech that perhaps had more importance than the battle itself.”

See the rest of this story in the May 27 Daphne Bulletin.