While many teens are seriously involved in their respective faiths, some have gone above and beyond in becoming active members in society. From Dec. 4-7, students ranging from freshmen to juniors participated in the L’Taken Seminars, where they were able to lobby bills in front of Congress.

In the nation’s capitol, Jewish students had a unique opportunity to lobby Congress for Jewish reform through legislature via their involvement with Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Some of the bills proposed dealt with criminal justice reform, gun violence, abortion, disability rights, and funding Israel.

The students were able to deliver individually written speeches in front of senators and representatives on Capitol Hill.

The group of mostly tenth graders belong to Temple Beth El. It’s a tradition of the temple to take its tenth graders on this trip each year prior to their confirmation, an event that affirms one’s loyalty to the Jewish faith. However, Temple Beth El was not the only participant as congregations from across the country were in attendance.

“The purpose was to experience bonding and leadership roles while at the same time discussing current issues and our view on them,” sophomore Joshua Rosenel said.

While the students all know each other well through temple, they were able to bond in meaningful ways during the life-altering trip.

“A group of students including myself stayed back one of the days instead of going to one of the Smithsonian Museums,” Rosenel said. “We all hung out and worked on homework. While that does not sound very exciting, we bonded and got much closer with one another.”

During the nights, the group was also allowed to explore places like Georgetown and Pentagon Row, but aside from this the trip was set to a very strict schedule. The days began at 8:00 a.m. and nighttime lectures ran as late as midnight.

The faith-driven trip gave students a unique opportunity to explore a new city, while simultaneously working to create a better, reformed world.