For a while, Sydney Shelton’s favorite subject was math. But after taking Ernest Nelson’s history classes, that changed.
“All of a sudden, history just become a lot more interesting,” said the 17-year-old, who is heading into her senior year.
Nelson, a social studies teacher at Amanda Elzy High, taught Shelton world history her sophomore year and Advanced Placement American History last year.
Nelson noted the interest and potential that Shelton showed.
“Outstanding,” Nelson said when describing Shelton. “She’s what I call one of my go-getters. You give her an assignment – she’s on it. She comes to class prepared, unbelievably prepared.”
So in March, Nelson nominated Shelton to take part in the 2008 Congressional Academy in Washington, D.C. The program is put on by the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio.
“I’m excited. I’m still in shock, to tell you the truth,” Shelton said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me.”
It lasts from June 29 to July 11. She flies out of Memphis Sunday.
Two students from each state were chosen for the program.
According to the center’s Web site, the 100 students will study America's past by visiting the locations of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg, and the steps where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream” speech. The program will look at what the three events from American history have in common.
The group will also tour the White House and other historic sites.
Shelton had to write a 750-word essay on why she should be chosen for the program.
“I just wrote what I felt,” Shelton said of her essay, which took her roughly 30 minutes to compose.
For the past month, Nelson and Shelton have been meeting at Amanda Elzy three days a week studying the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address and King’s speech.
“I just want to help her be better prepared for the experiencing,” Nelson said. “She said she works better in a school environment, so I told her if that’s what it takes, then that’s what we’ll do.”
Amanda Elzy Principal Byron Haynes said Shelton’s selection didn’t surprise him.
“She has always been a model student for us,” Haynes said. “It’s not often that our students get the opportunity to travel this distance, out of state. I’m hoping that Sydney comes back and shows some of our other students to strive for their potential.”
Haynes also spoke highly of Nelson, whom he appointed as the head of Amanda Elzy’s social studies department next year.
“He has high expectation for his students, but he gives them hope that they can achieve those expectations.”
Shelton, a cheerleader at Amanda Elzy, is also a member of the student council, a member of the Beta Club and the National Honor Society. After graduation, she plans to attend Mississippi State University and study accounting or business.
“To have my school exposed to something like this, it’s special,” Shelton said of the experience.
