{"id":33326,"date":"2019-06-01T07:00:59","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T14:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/?p=33326"},"modified":"2019-06-05T14:26:54","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T21:26:54","slug":"mr-smith-goes-to-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/mr-smith-goes-to-washington\/","title":{"rendered":"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"

WREC grant recipient earns internship with Utah congressman\u2019s office<\/p>\n

By Dianna Troyer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Colton
Colton Smith with Utah Sen. Mitt Romney.<\/strong>
Photo courtesy of Colton Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Colton Smith attended West Wendover High School, he set a goal of one day working in a political office in Washington, D.C. This summer, Colton will take a big step toward achieving that dream when he heads to the nation\u2019s capital for a prestigious internship.<\/p>\n

From May to August, Colton will work for Chris Stewart, a Republican representing Utah\u2019s 2nd Congressional District in the state\u2019s western and southern regions.<\/p>\n

A freshman at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Colton applied for the internship after learning about it at the Leavitt Center of Politics and Public Service on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, Washington, D.C., is a global symbol of freedom for the world,\u201d he says. \u201cThe number of historical sites in the area fascinates me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Inside
As a Congressional intern, Colton will spend a lot of time in the Capitol Rotunda as he leads Capitol tours for constituents from Utah\u2019s 2nd District.<\/strong>
Photo by Architect of the Capitol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of Colton\u2019s responsibilities will be taking constituents from Utah\u2019s 2nd District on tours of the Capitol.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely my favorite place in Washington, D.C., because it\u2019s the center of American democracy, and the Statue of Freedom stands over it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The 19-foot, 6-inch bronze statue crowns the Capitol\u2019s distinctive dome. Wearing a robe secured with a brooch inscribed \u201cU.S.,\u201d the classical female figure wears a helmet with eagle feathers.<\/p>\n

The rotunda, often referred to as the symbolic and physical heart of the Capitol, is 96 feet in diameter and 180 feet tall. Thousands of visitors stroll
\naround it daily, looking at large paintings of significant historical events and statues of former presidents.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite painting there is the surrender of Lord Cornwallis because that moment symbolizes the beginning of American freedom,\u201d Colton says of the 12-by-18-foot oil painting. In 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia, the British Army surrendered, ending the last major campaign of the Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe marble statue of Abraham Lincoln is my favorite statue in the rotunda,\u201d Colton says of the contemplative life-sized depiction of the president holding the Emancipation Proclamation in his right hand. \u201cI admire him as a president because without him the nation we know today would not be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Capitol building is one of Colton\u2019s favorite places in Washington.<\/strong>
Photo by Architect of the Capitol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1866, Congress commissioned the Lincoln statue to 18-year-old Lavinia Ellen \u201cVinnie\u201d Ream. She was the youngest artist and first woman to receive a commission from the government for a statue. She completed it in five years.<\/p>\n

Colton says he hopes to learn more this summer about public land management, which is a policy issue Congressman Stewart is focused on.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe advocated for the protection of public land when he introduced legislation to create a sixth national park in Utah,\u201d Colton says. \u201cYet he also advocates for states\u2019 rights on public land, allowing for more local control over usage, such as grazing and other business interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last summer while touring Washington, D.C., Colton says he often thought of his favorite president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe inspires me because he accomplished so much during his political career,\u201d Colton says. \u201cHe led us through the worst economic disaster in our
\nnation\u2019s history and one of the worst armed conflicts. All the while, he battled infantile paralysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Abraham
Colton’s favorite statue in the rotunda is this marble likeness of Abraham Lincoln.<\/strong>
Photo by Architect of the Capitol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among Roosevelt\u2019s countless accomplishments was establishing the Rural Electrification Administration by executive order in 1936. An REA loan in 1959 enabled Wells Rural Electric Co., a nonprofit cooperative, to provide electricity to its member-owners.<\/p>\n

WREC has helped Colton achieve his goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m grateful to have received a grant from WREC\u2019s Next Dollar Foundation to help pay for college and to have participated in the Utah Rural Electric Cooperative Association\u2019s Michael F. Peterson Youth Leadership Challenge,\u201d Colton says. \u201cStudent leadership in high school led me toward public service.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

During high school, Colton served as student body president and joined Future Business Leaders of America. He now serves as the chief of staff in student government at SUU.<\/p>\n

After his unforgettable summer, Colton will return to college next fall. He is majoring in economics and minoring in legal studies and criminal justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day I hope to be involved in politics,\u201d he says, \u201cbut first I have aspirations of studying law. I can\u2019t wait to see what unfolds this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WREC grant recipient earns internship with Utah congressman\u2019s office By Dianna Troyer When Colton Smith attended West Wendover High School, he set a goal of one day working in a political office in Washington, D.C. This summer, Colton will take a big step toward achieving that dream when he heads to the nation\u2019s capital for […]\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":33328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218,220],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33326"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}