Two Jones County Junior College honors students recently had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. and learn about the political process.

Eric James of Soso and James Eagles of Vicksburg, two students enrolled in JCJC’s new Charles Pickering Honors Institute, accompanied students from Mississippi State University’s Stennis Montgomery Association to Washington D.C. Each year the association visits Washington D.C. to expose students to politics and help them get a better understanding of how government works.

Jason Dedwylder, JCJC Director of External Funding, was a founding member of the association. Through his contacts with MSU and the current SMA faculty sponsor, Dr. Marty Wiseman, he was able to add the Jones students to the trip.

“This is a great opportunity for JCJC to expose its students to the governmental process and inspire a young generation of leaders,” said Dedwylder. “We hope to work out a partnership with MSU’s association and our honors college to continue to participate in this annual trip and expand the number of students from JCJC that attend.”

James, a graduating sophomore at Jones, plans to attend MSU and major in engineering. He said he also plans to join the association.

“That decision is directly influenced by the trip,” said James. “I liked being around that group of people. They were very informed about what’s going on in our nation. They were brilliant and asked very ambitious questions. At the Republican and Democratic headquarters, they were asking how to work there. Our visit was a chance for them to further their career.”

Eagles, a freshman majoring in chemical engineering, also plans to attend MSU upon graduation.

“I didn’t have a great interest in politics, but I wanted to learn more and this trip really helped with that,” he said. “I will stay in touch with the association once I attend MSU. The trip was a great experience. I got to meet lots of different people and learn their roles in DC, and I learned about a lot of things going on there that I had no clue about.”

The trip offered the students the opportunity to hear Lt. General John Bradley speak, meet with officials from the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee, have lunch with members of the Mississippi Congressional Delegation, participate in a question and answer session with a panel of lobbyists who have Capitol Hill experience and went to college in Mississippi, participate in a question and answer series from a panel of Congressional staff, attend several receptions and be introduced to members of Congress and their staff, and network with Mississippians who have gone to work in Washington D.C. after graduating from college.

“It amazed me how there was a network of folks from the Jones, Jasper and Forrest areas,” said James. “There’s a support line for Mississippi people who go there. You walk into D.C., and you have family there. You’ve never met them, but they’re not strangers, and they’ll help you any way they can. It’s not the cold city I once thought it was. It’s comforting to know that.”

The Jones students also had a chance to take in sites such as the Lincoln Memorial, Smithsonian, Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. In addition, they toured areas of the Capitol that aren’t available to tourists.

“This trip was a huge learning experience,” said James. “I think the Honors College provides increased learning potential. The more you put into something, the more you get out of it. JCJC is renowned for that. They’ve done nothing but help me, and the Honors College has just added more opportunities.”

Said Eagles, “The Honors College is only in its first year, and it’s gotten off to a great start. It will just get better and better as time goes by. Jones is a great school with awesome teachers and programs. Allowing us the opportunity to join with university students for a hands-on learning experience in Washington D.C., well, that can only come from Jones.”

To learn more about the Charles Pickering Honors Insitute at JCJC, call 601-477-4030.