50 Years of Close Up | Alumni Magazine Summer 2025

In 1975, a young and enthusiastic Belen teacher wanted to supplement the curriculum of his government class for the many students who had left Cuba, or whose parents had left Cuba. In addition to teaching U.S. government, Patrick Collins wanted to make the content tangible. After organizing a trip on his own for 12 students, Mr. Collins was contacted by the newly-formed Close Up Foundation. CU let Mr. Collins know it facilitated the very experience he envisioned for his students. They offered a fellowship for one student to attend, accompanied by a faculty chaperone.

 

At that time, school trips were not a priority for Belen. According to Mr. Collins, many families at Belen were still establishing themselves financially in the U.S. in 1975 - school trips were for “the future.” However, the administration supported the idea of having a student visit Washington as part of the fellowship. Rather than selecting a student themselves, the administration trusted the government students to vote for the student who would most benefit from the trip, a student who showed “the greatest interest in civic education.”  Miguel Ares was selected in a landslide.  Mr. Collins recalls that “they picked the right student.” Ares, upon returning from the trip, explained that it was an “extraordinary experience.” His endorsement resulted in students signing up to attend the event in Washington for the next 50 years.

 

The Close Up Foundation was established by Stephen A. Janger in 1971 to bring high school students and teachers from across the country to experience American democracy “close up.”. Mr. Collins remembers Janger as “someone who makes an indelible impression” and committed to supplement civic education in the classroom with direct engagement with government officials and participants in governance in all three branches of the federal government. Collins added that students also get to see the real places they read about and “experience, for example, being in Arlington Cemetery.”

 

Among the most important elements of Close Up, according to both Collins and government teacher Alex Peña ‘06, is the ability of participants to share the experience with students from around the country and see other points of view. Peña noted that it takes the students out of the “Belen bubble” and exposes them to different perspectives.

 

Since that first trip, members of every Belen class have participated in the high school Close Up program, a total of 2,315 students through 2025. Belen made sure that the class of 2022, whose junior year trip in 2021 was canceled due to the COVID pandemic, were able to attend as seniors in the spring of 2022.

 

Over the years, students have experienced many historic events as part of Close Up.  Students attended both of Ronald Reagan’s inaugurations, visited Congress as Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings were underway, and witnessed the effects of a government shutdown on Washington, D.C.  They have also seen Washington’s famous cherry blossoms and at least one group’s return was delayed due to a blizzard.

 

Close Up expanded its programs to include middle school students, and starting in 2016, Belen eighth graders have participated in the Founding of a Nation (FOAN) program.  This program takes participants to various historical sites in the mid-Atlantic.  Students visit Williamsburg to understand colonial governance, the Yorktown battlefield to see the site of the British surrender, Washington, DC as the current seat of government, Philadelphia and the sites associated with the Continental Congress, George Washington’s Mt. Vernon estate, and the Gettysburg battlefield in their week-long trip. Belen has brought 818 students for the FOAN program to date, including six groups of over 100 eighth graders.

 

According to Close Up, no other faculty member of any school across the country has attended their programs as long as Mr. Collins. During the 2025 Belen Close Up week, the Close Up Foundation honored Mr. Collins and Belen for 50 years of involvement with the program, longer than any other active teacher. Mr. Collins was also the inaugural inductee into the Close Up Hall of Fame. Inducted in 2015, he is one of only seven teachers so honored. His citation reads in part: “No educator in the history of Close Up has partnered with the Foundation for longer or with greater distinction. Pat’s commitment and dedication to civic education is unparalleled and truly inspiring.” 

 

Belen has benefited from its relationship with CU, as students who have learned about government service through the program and through other initiatives in government classes have chosen careers in public service and the military. In 2011, Mr. Collins added a now-annual element to the already robust CU program. He gathered five alumni who had served in various roles in public service to speak to the students about their professional journeys and how Belen and Close Up had affected their decisions and careers. That first panel was extremely well received by the CU students. It was also attended by local Washington-area alumni who were eager to find ways to connect with current students and fellow alumni, as well as support the school from afar. 

 

Over the years, Mr. Collins has assembled a panel of participants from across the professional spectrum, serving the public in both the government and private sectors.  Panelists have included alumni serving in federal law enforcement, as congressional staff, or as members of executive departments, active-duty military personnel, students at the Naval Academy, heads of non-profit organizations, and two U.S. ambassadors to the Organization of American States. The panel has also been visited by members of Congress, including alumni Rep. Joe García ‘82, Rep. Carlos Curbelo ‘98, then Sen. Marco Rubio P’23, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.  Former Rep. Ros-Lehtinen has been a longtime supporter of the school’s connection with Close Up and currently serves as a Close Up board member.

 

One of those participants, Dr. Frank Mora ‘82, the most recent ambassador to the OAS, was particularly inspired by Close Up. He had hoped to play baseball and have that be his pathway to college. Dr. Mora “fell in love with the place and it brought to life what we had learned in Pat Collin’s class. I decided, based on that experience, that I wanted to study government in Washington. I just had to find a way of getting here.  In that sense, it shaped my life. It defined what I wanted to be and what I wanted to study.”

 

Mr. Collins noted that the benefit of Close Up is hard to measure, but sometimes it is seen in “impressions and feelings.” He added, “You can see pictures, but when you are standing in Arlington Cemetery or the rotunda of the Capitol, it is different.” Belen has also significantly benefited from Mr. Collins’ initiative fifty years ago. Fr. Willie García-Tuñón ‘87 praised his former teacher. “Mr. Collins exposed Belen to one of the most impactful experiences a student can have during his high school years. When Fr. Baldor hired him 52 years ago to teach the young children of mostly Cuban immigrants, Mr. Collins understood his role was to foster a sincere love for the United States and help motivate a strong sense of civic responsibility. Close Up has been a big part of that.”

 

 

--Rolando J. Díaz, Ph.D. ’87 is a clinical psychologist in Arlington, Virginia. He also helps organize and emcees the Close Up Alumni Panel each year.