Already aspiring to great things, 13-year-old Delaney Shaw recently returned from her first trip to the nation’s Capitol after being selected for the Junior National Young Leaders Conference.

“It’s so you can become a better leader and you can be an overall better person,” said Shaw, who just finished her seventh grade year at Old Rochester Regional Junior High.

Shaw was shocked when she found out a teacher had nominated her for the honor and week-long leadership conference in Washington D.C. A strong student, Shaw loves math and science and hopes to go to a private school when she reaches high school. She’s also active in the Student Council and participating in drives and fundraisers for local charities.

Plus Shaw is fierce in the rink. In addition to her DC trip, she was selected as one of 36 forwards to attend the US Hockey High Performance Cam, which took place the week after the leadership conference. She also plays field hockey and lacrosse.

For Shaw, who lives with her parents, Andrea and Sean, in Rochester, the trip to Washington was an opportunity to learn about the country’s history, to hear from a variety of leaders while visiting national monuments and museums, and to meet peers from all over the country.

War memorials, the White House and an overnight trip to the Maryland Science Center were all on the agenda. Shaw said a highlight of the trip was visiting the Senate Chamber of the U.S. Capitol and hearing from someone who makes laws happen.

“We got to sit in the chairs and have the congressman talk to us,” she said. Noting, “I don’t understand how they couldn’t fall asleep, the chairs were so comfortable.”

Shaw said the week was jam-packed with homework every night as she and her peers learned about leadership traits and how to achieve their goals.

The trip was a perfect way to see D.C., said Shaw.

“This way I get to learn more history than if I just went to go for a visit,” she said.

Shaw said she wants to bring the “new knowledge back to our community here and our school.”