In the early morning hours of Saturday, Feb. 10, 50 EMU students, including three CAC representatives, boarded a bus bound for D.C. This CAC-sponsored excursion was a choose-your-own-adventure with optional stops at the National Mall, the Air and Space Museum, and Union Station. The only required activity was arriving at the Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC) house by 7 p.m.
Andrea Cable, a junior, said the day was “memorable” despite “dreary gray” skies that eventually dumped rain on her and her friends. Her stops included Hirshhorn Museum, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the White House, and the National Archives, with lunch at a sandwich shop. Cable and her friends especially enjoyed the Archives. “We got to view the Constitution and Declaration of Independence … [it] gave everyone a chance to dry off,” Cable said. Another highlight was stopping at a coffee shop. “I probably had the best cappuccino ever,” Cable said. “I loved my time in D.C. and would go back in a heartbeat, maybe to explore more coffee shops. … Coffee shops in D.C. are no joke.”
Graduate student Filip Cvetanovski said, “The D.C. trip was an amazing experience for us. Even though we have been in the city before, there are always new things to see and visit.” He traveled with two other international students to the National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the United States Capitol Building, and the White House. A low point was getting caught in the rain with only one umbrella. Some high points for Cvetanovski included seeing paintings from “some of the most renowned artist in the world, like Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Rembrandt, Modigliani, et cetera” at the National Gallery of Art and touring the Capitol where they “got to see how U.S. democracy was created and worked in practice.” At the end of the day, Cvetanovski and his friends journeyed to the WCSC house. He said they were welcomed with warm company and food.
Senior Amanda Williams started her day at the Hirshhorn Museum, where she said she was excited to see the “What Absence is Made Of” exhibit, “which had a large room full of paper which periodically fell from the ceiling.” Williams added that she is a big fan of interactive art. Williams’ main regret is that she did not “spend more time looking at art.” After the Hirshhorn, Williams toured the Capitol Building with Admissions Counselor Hannah Daley, where they admired the columns, sculptures, and dome.
For lunch, she met up with senior Sara Shenk Moreno and alumni Janaya Sachs and Rachel Schrock at a diner in the Adams Morgan neighborhood. They then visited the National Zoological Park, where Williams said they saw some giant pandas “sprawled out on the floor sleeping and an elephant eating a tree branch.” From there, they went to Sachs’ house in Columbia Heights to hang out and drink warm tea, because the rain was making them cold. After saying goodbye to her friends, Williams’ day concluded at the WCSC house, the place she called “home” for a semester, where she enjoyed seeing “some old friends, and making new friends, bonding over pizza and Oreos.” Williams was “really glad EMU made this trip possible.”
Overall, this CAC event provided the opportunity for students to personalize an exploration day in D.C.
