More than 100 U.S. Senate Youth Program students came to Arlington National Cemetery on March 7, 2025, to learn about the cemetery’s history and honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
The U.S. Senate Youth Program brings two high school students from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity, to Washington, D.C., to experience their federal government in action. Most students are juniors or seniors. “We show them how the government exemplifies respect, duty, selfless service and public service for future generations,” explained Director of Student Activities Jonathan Bissell.
The students arrived on the western steps of Memorial Amphitheater, where ANMC Historian Tim Frank explained the cemetery’s past, from the Civil War to the space age.
While most of the students made their way to watch the changing of the guard, four had been selected to lay a wreath at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier: Catherine Page (Alexandria, Virginia), Lizzie Shacklett (Radnor, Pennsylvania), Charles Snellman (Helena, Montana) and Jaelyn Woodley (Kansas City, Missouri). First, however, ANMC Curator Rod Gainer gave them a tour of Memorial Amphitheater’s Display Room, which features a wide range of historical artifacts and an exhibit on the history of the Tomb.
After the tour, the four students walked down the plaza steps and placed their wreath. Two of the wreath layers have grandparents laid to rest at the cemetery. Page thought of her grandfather, Vincent Page, who served in Korea and Vietnam and is buried in Section 60. “It hits differently when you’re standing there, looking at not only those who served, but also my mentor,” she said. Shacklett, whose two grandparents are inurned at the columbarium also appreciated the experience. “It made me realize how important it is to protect, remember and share their legacy,” she said. “It’s so important to remember all of the contributions of those who served.”
The other two wreath layers came from long family legacies of service. Snellman’s family served in the military from World War I to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He found the experience incredibly meaningful. “It means a lot to honor those who have served,” he said. Jaelyn Woodley’s father served 32 years in the U.S. Army, and her sister served in both the Army and the Air Force. “We have a lot to do with military service,” she said. “A lot of who I am comes from the military.”
