SHOAL Bay teenager Reid Butler is busy cramming in studies on current affairs and international politics ahead of a trip that will see him sit in on a US Congress meeting.
The Merewether High student is one of 300 or more of his peers from around the world selected to attend the Global Youth Leadership Conference in the United States later this year.
Reid, 16, will venture to Washington DC to attend lectures in Congress, visit embassies and national monuments.
He then will take part in a mock international seminar at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Reid is funding his trip with help from his parents and a part-time job at Nelson Bay Cinemas.
He is hoping the experience will help with his aspiration to become a journalist.
"Just coming away with an awareness of how things work on an international scale will be great," he said.
"Forming friendships with other kids all over the world I have no doubt will be exciting."
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