Isabel Theodore is heading to Cape Canaveral.
The fifth-grader at Floris Elementary School in Herndon was among 250 students nationwide awarded earlier this month by the America’s Field Trip contest, which invited students from third to 12th grade to submit writing and artwork on what America means to them in commemoration of the country’s 250th birthday.
One of 125 first-place winners, Isabel wrote a poem called “America: The Home of the World” with the assistance of a writing coach that celebrates the nation’s diversity.
“What it really means to me is that I’ve lived in Washington and California, and now I live in Virginia,” Isabel told FFXnow. “Just looking at the different kind of people everywhere, it really speaks to me, and that’s why I wrote a poem about diversity.”
As a result of being a first-place awardee, Isabel will be traveling this summer to Cape Canaveral in Florida to experience the Kennedy Space Center and meet an astronaut for an immersive behind-the-scenes field trip experience. She is looking forward to meeting real-life astronauts.
“When I was a kid, I used to want to be an astronaut because I was very interested in space and rockets,” she said. “And that’s why seeing real-life astronauts and just getting to ask them questions about how [it] is in space [is] very exciting to me.”
Isabel found out about the field trip contest through her mother, Naveena Govindasamy, who came across it while checking social media.
“I just thought it was a good way for kids to express their thoughts and feelings and she’s a good writer,” Govindasamy said. “I thought this is also a good way to pour out what she likes to do.”
Organized by America250, the nonpartisan initiative established by Congress to lead events and programming commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the America’s Field Trip contest received more than 20,000 submissions from students across the country since launching as a pilot program in 2024.
Selected by a panel of current and former teachers, the winners represented all 50 states, five U.S. territories and D.C.
Celebrated last week at a reception in D.C. attended by members of Congress and other dignitaries, first-place awardees received a trip to one of 16 destinations. In addition to Cape Canaveral, options ranged from a visit to the American Village in Alabama to exclusive tours of historic sites in D.C. and Northern Virginia, including the Library of Congress and George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
Second-place awardees won a cash prize of $500 and official America250 gear.
Isabel said the America’s Field Trip contest has made her better as a writer and poet.
“I do enjoy writing poems, but sometimes, it’s hard for me to get inspiration,” she said. “This poem that I wrote helps me get inspiration on the spot now, and it helps me with my rhyming, and just, in general, all my writing skills.”
Read Isabel’s winning poem below.
“America, the Home of the World”
By Isabel TheodoreBlack, brown, tan, and white
Tall, big, short, and slight
The colors of the hands entwined together
The sizes of the people who make the States betterNodding heads and rising hearts
Bringing back the divided parts
Agreeing despite the odds
Learning about each other’s godsStatue of Liberty, Lincoln Memorial
Mount Rushmore, Grand Canyon, all of these pictorial
Joined with friends at every door
Appreciating America’s beauty at its coreWith hints of hope, we’re happy and kind
Because we’re believers even without minds aligned
All united, the flag finally unfurled
Welcome to America, the home of the world
