Berkshire Carroll Elementary sixth grader Nathan Berkshire spent spring break at the 2009 Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C.

He was nominated to attend by his homeroom and social studies teacher, Andrea O'Brien. Selection was based on achievement, academic performance, and leadership potential.

The conference was for exceptional sixth and seventh graders. They stayed at the National 4-H Center in Chevy Chase, Md., and attended Leadership Focus Group meetings.

"We learned about six leadership traits: leadership, communication, character, respect, problem solving, and goal setting," Nathan said. "While at the conference, we were not called kids; we were called scholars. We talked about John Brown and other famous people in history. We went to the Capitol Building, the Lincoln Memorial, war memorials, and various other landmarks."

"At the Lincoln Memorial, we found a misspelling in his Inaugural Speech," Nathan said. "The word 'future' was misspelled. They put an 'e' instead of the 'f.'"

"While we were in our meeting rooms, we had to write in journals about what we learned, who the people we talked about were, and what they did to accomplish their goals," Nathan explained. "Every day there was a different theme: Sunday - Voices of Leadership. Monday - Voices of Freedom. Tuesday - Voices of Struggle. Wednesday - Voices of Courage. Thursday - Voices of Change. Friday - Voices of the Future."

Nathan said he met scholars from across the country and roomed with scholars from Texas, North Carolina, and Colorado.

On Thursday night, they visited the Maryland Science Center, which had interactive exhibits, and they ate supper at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Nathan was invited to the Alumni Conference in Boston in 2010.

His parents are Steve and Marianne Berkshire of rural Camden and Diana and Doug White of Deer Creek.