Published: July 19, 2008 09:01 pm            

Teen making presidential trip

Patrick Sparks’ invitation was in the mail.

In fact, he received his invitation to attend the presidential inauguration Jan. 20, 2009, in Washington D.C. just this week.

Now, all he has to do is raise the money for the trip.

Sparks is a senior at Corsicana High School. He has been active in ROTC all his high school career, and this year will serve as ROTC Corps commander. He has a deep interest in aviation and engineering, and is working on his pilot’s license. He is also a member of the Coyote Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force. He also has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Though his interests are varied, he excels in many areas. A couple of years ago, Sparks took early SATs, since he hopes to attend either the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., or Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The short-term result of taking his SATs early is that Sparks scored high enough to put him on certain academic radars across the nation. His spring break in 2008 was spent in Washington, D.C., at National Youth Leadership Conference, where he participated with other students across the nation in simulations of Congress, bill writing, and caucuses.

“We toured all of D.C., including Capitol Hill, the Senate, the House of Representatives, Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, part of the Smithsonian, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,” Sparks said. “Our congressional simulations dealt with real-life situations, such as Internet security and wire tapping. We talked about what we would do if we were president. We had debates, and simulated passing a legislative bill.”

Sparks was able to meet kids from other states, and one from Germany, while he was in D.C. Since then, he attended Boys State in June, and has spent the summer working at Navarro College in the housing department, cleaning and preparing dorms.

He and parents, Kevin and Jeanette Sparks, were delighted when Patrick received his official invitation to the inauguration this last week in the mail. However, their deadline for the first installment of his trip money is Aug. 1, when they have to send in $1,200.

“I think we’ll try to have a garage sale, and possibly a bake sale,” Jeanette said. “Then we’ll have another $1,200 due next month. The overall cost of his trip is $3,200, and any help from the community would be appreciated.”

Sparks is saving money he has earned from his job this summer to apply toward his trip, but will also depart for ROTC Honors Camp in Oklahoma in two weeks. He wrote an essay for the “Sons of the American Revolution,” which won him $200, and the ROTC honor. His top-ranked essay bounced around the system for a while, before ending up as the second ranked essay in the state.

“I got disqualified at that point for it being short four words,” Sparks said, laughing. “It was up for winning a $2,000 competition — so we joke that those were four $500 words I left out.”

If you would like to help Sparks attend the presidential inauguration in January, contact Jeanette Sparks at (903) 872-0118 or by e-mail at jsparks2244@sbcglobal.net.

“It’s an historic moment,” she said. “We don’t want him to miss this unique opportunity.”

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Deanna Brown may be contacted via e-mail at deanna@corsicanadailysun.com

        

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