A fourth-grade student from Connections Homeschool is heading to Washington, D.C., to light the Capitol Christmas Tree.
Rose Burke, who penned the winning entry to the essay contest, “What would you like the country to know about Alaska’s Christmas tree this year, and why is it so special?” will soon be able to share her essay with people all over the country.
“As the winner, Rose will travel with her family to Washington, D.C., where she’ll join Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to help light the Capitol Christmas Tree. She will also have the special honor of reading her essay at both the Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and the USDA’s Christmas Tree Reception,” said a post on the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Facebook page.
“She was totally surprised and just a real highlight for the Connections homeschool program,” said KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland. “Connections had the last winner from Alaska as well back in 2015, so [we’re] pretty proud of her.”
The first and only previous U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree to come from Alaska was sent from the Chugach National Forest in 2015.
Rose was greeted at the Kenai Municipal Airport by a special guest, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, who arrived to reveal that the fourth-grader had won the essay contest and was headed to D.C.
“She comes up, and she talks to [Rose] and very personable and just tells her that she had won that essay [contest] and what she gets to do,” said Holland. “I think how she framed it was, ‘Do you think you can flip that switch from up here in Alaska all the way down to Washington DC? It’s a long ways. Guess what? You’re going to come to Washington, DC, and flip that switch.”
The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree—known as “The People’s Tree,” reflecting the nickname for the U.S. House of Representatives, “the People’s House”—adorns the West Lawn of the Capitol and has been selected each year since 1970 from a different National Forest.
