HHS Students Visit DC to Talk State of the Union

A group of Herndon High School students had the opportunity to learn exactly what goes into creating a State of the Union Address in late January.

Herndon High School social studies teacher Doug Graney brought a group of seniors to the White House to meet with two speechwriters, including Herndon High graduate Kyle O'Connor.

Graney said when preparing for the trip the class went through previous State of the Union Addresses and learned about the protocol for members of Congress to follow during the speech.

Rawan Nour said before their trip to Washington, D.C. the class discussed questions they should explore. Rajaa Ibrahim said they watched portions of previous speeches as well. To prepare the class also had to provide documentation for security staff, such as passports.

Writing a presidential speech begins with the president providing a list of topics they would like to address to the speechwriters, Nour said. They also consider the president’s ideologies and the message he wants to get across while writing the speech, she said. 

Ibrahim said after that the president gets to read the speech and help work on revisions before being sent back for edits and being finalized. Nour said the speechwriters told the class that it’s likely that Michelle Obama gets to read Barack Obama’s speeches during the writing process.

Nour said they were able to see how much work actually gets put into the process of creating a presidential speech. The speechwriters told Graney’s class they were still making changes until an hour and a half before the address happened.

Ibrahim said when working on speeches in the future they will be able to put into practice what they learned.

During the class trip to D.C. the students observed a protest as they were leaving. Nour said a Muslim man was protesting because in Saudi Arabia there is a tomb for Muhammad which needs a new entrance.

He was also protesting because he would like to see a mosque built in D.C. to help repair relations between the United States and Muslims, Nour said. Ibrahim said the man also did his prayers while he was protesting.

Nour said because she and Ibrahim are both Muslim they felt they had a personal connection to his protest and it was inspirational to see him doing what he believed in.