CRENSHAW : 32 Students to Tour U.S., Meet Clinton

Thirty-two students from the Los Angeles area have been chosen to participate in America the Beautiful, an educational cross-country bus tour that will culminate in a visit with President Clinton at the White House on Nov. 9.

Sponsored by AmericanTours International and the Los Angeles and Bay Area chapters of the Urban League, the two-week tour will take 70 junior high and high school students and their chaperons on a trek through Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Dallas, Little Rock, Atlanta and New York. The red, white and blue tour bus will pull out of Los Angeles on Oct. 27 and arrive in Washington 13 days later.

“The turning point in my life was travel,” said Noel Irwin-Hentschel, the chief executive officer of AmericanTours. “I’ve always dreamed of providing that opportunity for young people of diverse cultures. . . . This will be a real chance for them to develop as leaders.”

Holiday Inn Worldwide is providing accommodations, and several other companies, including Dole Foods and American Restaurant Group, are contributing to the project as well.

Los Angeles Urban League President John Mack, whose organization chose students based on academic performance and economic need, said he hopes participants will “discover what the possibilities of life are. Los Angeles’ future depends on young people expanding their minds and getting beyond the ‘isms’ most adults are saddled with. Travel will help accomplish that.”

For 15-year-old Ramon Bailey, the trip’s most exciting aspect will be meeting the President. “I’ve only seen him on TV, so this will be a lot different,” said Ramon, a Dorsey High School sophomore.

Shanice Waddell, 14, said she jumped for joy after learning she had been chosen for the trip. “Seeing Bill Clinton will be nice, but I really can’t wait to go to Mississippi,” said the Mt. Vernon Junior High School student. “I haven’t visited my family there since I was a baby.”