For one week, three students from Englefeld got to experience what it would be like to serve as a Member of Parliament.

Hannah Moellenbeck, Bing Bing Zhang and Krystyna Ostrovsky were accepted to participate in Forum for Young Canadians in Ottawa.

"It was the most phenomenal experience I've ever had. It was definitely life changing," Moellenbeck exclaimed.

The three students were able to present their adventure to school mates, as well as sponsors and other dignitaries on Wednesday afternoon.

"To share it with (the school) and to encourage other students to attend in the future, I want nothing more than for other people to have the same experience," Moellenbeck said about the presentation.

"It was kind of breath taking to share our experience with them. It feels really good," Ostrovsky added.

The three students agreed that while they didn't have the largest amount of knowledge or watching interest in the political world prior to visiting Ottawa, they certainly do now.

"Before I went, I was not following politics. But now, I'm watching the news and what's going on," "It's interesting to know what politics is like, because it's not all happy all the time," Zhang explained.

Being able to have a first hand account of the day-to-day life has even potentially tweaked a career path for Moellenbeck.

"Going into it, I never really saw myself as a person in politics. I found debating fun, but that was really it," she said. "After it, I can definitely see myself following that career path."

For Zhang, a career in politics peaked her interest initially, but she expects to remain on her initial career path.

"I had my mind set on medicine, and after having this experience, I was kind of rocky on where to go," she stated. "After a few weeks, I was back on my usual routines, and I would like to go into medicine."

According to Ostrovsky, being able to properly communicate with a large amount of people is one of her major takeaways from Forum.

"Speaking is really important, and languages. That is probably the most important lesson I learned. It's really important to know both French and English if you want to communicate with everyone," she said. "The world is really big, and everyone is so diverse. It's really amazing to get to know all the different people and learn about our whole country."

Being three high school students, traveling without their families is mostly new experience, says Zhang.

"This was my first experience as an individual to travel without my family, and I feel just a bit more grown up after this experience."

Forum is open for those ages 15-19. More details can be found on their website.

Moellenbeck, Zhang and Ostrovsky (front, left to right) with teacher Cori Harcourt (back, left) and community sponsors.