On Friday, November 15th, Sophomores Lilly Grace Sites, Jane Hurst, Mayrant Gonwa, Maggie Boswell, Annie Jicka, Trinity Scalia, Worth Hewitt, Thomas Wasson, Shivraj Kumar, Jack Harvey, Havens Smith and Landon Miller had lunch with former Representative Gregg Harper. At lunch he gave a presentation on what it was like to be a Congressman for the United States of America in Washington, DC.

Rep. Harper explained the legacy he made while being in the House of Representatives. His greatest contribution was the Gregg and Livingston Harper Congressional Internship Program for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. This program aims to give students with varying intellectual disabilities an opportunity to gain congressional work experience. This program is based out of George Washington University, but now many schools have adopted similar programs.

After lunch Harper planned to take the group to look at old documents; however, the elevator stopped working and would not move. The group was stuck in the elevator for sixteen minutes, waiting for a technician to come help.

Sophomore Landon Miller commented, “the sixteen minutes I spent stuck in an elevator with Representative Harper, his daughter, and most of the Prep delegation sophomores, will change my life forever. We laughed, we cried, we played, we took pictures, but most of all we vibed. This shared experience is the highlight of my 2019 Youth Legislature Conference. Thank you to those who were all involved, whether you were in the elevator vibing or you were the technician who freed us.”

Many other sophomore delegates agreed with Landon on the elevator situation.