Written by: Miguel Salinas, Caminos al Futuro 2026
I thought I was going to the Capitol for a tour, not for a private trolley ride with two members of Congress.
As we arrived at the Capitol building steps, I barely had time to take in the view before I screeched, “Is that Maxwell Frost!? That’s Maxwell Frost!” Across the courtyard, the Florida lawmaker that represents my dad’s district was casually recording a speech on his phone. None of the Cisneros staff seemed phased, as if this happens all the time. My only regret is that I was too in shock to ask for a picture. I was still reeling when, as we took our group photo on the Capitol steps, a photobombing Representative from Texas stopped by to give us his best impersonations of U.S. Presidents. Ten minutes in and the excursion was off to a memorable start.
After our photo, we crossed the street to the Rayburn Building, where many representatives have their offices. Each of their offices had a sign saying, “Welcome, Please Come In,” so my friend Marc and I picked random doors and simply waltzed in. I knew that representatives were meant to be close to their constituents, but I never knew that you could just walk in and ask for an office tour. We didn’t have the chance to meet directly with any of those representatives, but one staffer gave us each a full-size bag of Skittles.
To travel back to the Capitol Building, we took the underground trolley built for members of Congress and their staffers. It’s a small train, so it filled up so quickly that there was nowhere for me to sit. I would have had to wait for the next train—that’s when I heard a voice from the booth labeled “Members Only.”
“Hop on,” said Representative Al Green from Texas. “We don’t mind,” added Representative Debbie Dingel from Michigan. On the ride, I found myself once again too dumbfounded to ask for a selfie. The whole time, I was just thinking, I really hope my friends back home believe me.
We ended our Capitol trip with another beautiful experience—observing the House of Representatives in session. While I scouted the members' faces, I couldn’t help but think how, on the 250th anniversary of my country, I saw leaders who looked like me in the crowd. When I looked at the Cisneros Scholars sitting on my sides, I saw future leaders too.
Miguel Salinas is a 2026 Caminos al Futuro Scholar. Miguel’s views are his own and not necessarily reflective of the Cisneros Institute.