Seven Twin Rivers students who attend Rio Linda High School were in Washington, D.C. to see Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.

Starla Rae, Rachael Want and Natasha Thompson were part of a tour operated by Smithsonian Student Travel, which is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute.

Four other students—Jayla Tunstall, Christina Donkor, Kimberly DeWitt and Shalay Thomas—are members of Rio Linda’s Black Student Union (BSU)/Cultural Diversity Club. They began raising money last spring for a trip to visit Southern California colleges. But they decided they could not miss the educational and historical inauguration ceremony for the nation’s first African-American president.

Students were accompanied by teachers Jennifer Wilderman, Yolanda Jimenez, Ed Banks and Anitra McMillon.

“This trip was amazing,” says Thompson. “I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything.”

Thompson, DeWitt, Thomas, Donkor and Tunstall shared their stories via live streaming video and blogs on the Twin Rivers Web site.

“I can truly say this was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget,” says Donkor. “I’m thankful for the opportunity and encourage anyone else with an idea, no matter how big it may be, to do it because as evidenced by our journey, nothing is impossible.”

You can read all about their journey at: www.twinriversusd.org