Air Force Capt. Ladonna Singleton, a communications officer with the 254th Combat Communications Group in Garland, Texas, was the only Air National Guard member who participated as a mentor in the 2009 U.S. Senate Youth Program. The week-long program brought young people together from across the country to learn about the political process.
Photo courtesy of Erin Lubin | | WASHINGTON, March 30, 2009 Students participating in the U.S. Senate Youth Program recently toured government buildings including the Pentagon, met their elected representatives and learned about the foundations of democracy. They also became personally acquainted with a citizen-airman who defends this democratic process.
Air Force Capt. Ladonna Singleton, a communications officer with the 254th Combat Communications Group in Garland, Texas, was the only Air National Guard member to mentor students in the weeklong program that brings young people to the nation's capital from across the country to learn more about the political process.
“We have to make sure we have them all 100 percent accounted for from the time we get up for breakfast at 7:30 to the time we go to bed,” Singleton said during the event. “We have to stay in service-dress uniform until 11 at night.” Singleton escorted the students as they talked with high-level officials, including senators, Supreme Court justices, and even President Barack Obama. Though the students already knew a lot about the political process, Singleton said, many were unfamiliar with the military. “Some of the students had no idea what the Air Force did or the Army or the Marines or the Coast Guard or any of the other services until they met up with us,” she said. “They |
