Senior Trip to Washington D.C. – Days 1 & 2

Trivium Seniors at the Washington Monument in Washington D.C.

It is Senior Trip time at Great Hearts where seniors throughout our academies have the opportunity to visit our nation’s capital and see the historical places and context for so many of their discussions regarding human nature, freedom, liberty, justice, and many other ideals and virtues.

Kyle Navarrette, Headmaster at Glendale Prep, will be accompanying his seniors on their trip this week. “[This trip is] living out the love of Community and Conversation- students share this experience together. The focus is not simply for a personal experience connected to history or travel, but a communal experience since the last 7 years have been one of sharing time, energy, food, and conversation. This trip means nothing apart from community and friendship.”

Follow one senior, Jacob Rickey, as he gives us a daily peak at some of the amazing sites they will experience this week, through his eyes and in his own words.

Sunday, March 5^th
Written by Jacob Rickey, Great Hearts Senior

We arrived at Sky Harbor at 5am this morning to catch a 7am flight. We were all tired but excited. Even had time for a quick game of chess. The flight was great, except a lot of our group had to have their carry-on bags checked because of the amount of snacks that they packed (a lot of Trader Joe’s Takis). We got on the plane great, and it was good flight, but it was a little bumpy when we landed. It wasn’t too bad, but I had to laugh when everyone applauded once all of the wheels of the plane were on the ground.

From the airport, we loaded onto a bus that took us to our hotel. Once we settled in and ate dinner, we went to the National Mall and walked through the World War II, Korean War Veterans, and Vietnam Veterans, and Lincoln Memorials along with the Washington Monument.

It was awesome seeing the Lincoln Memorial and I think it was most of our group’s favorite because of the different interpretations of what the statue means and the fact that there was an error in the writing on the walls that was fun to look for. [Side note from editor: Did you know there was a typo on the Lincoln Memorial?]. And we sat on the ground against the Washington Monument with our feet up on it to make it seem like we were standing on it.

It was a great start to our trip!

Monday, March 6^th
Written by Jacob Rickey, Great Hearts Senior

We got up this morning and walked to the Metro Station, which we rode to the Capitol Hill for a tour of the U.S. Capitol Building, and it was a very cool experience. It was cool to just sit in the House of Representatives. We weren’t allowed to bring our phones for this part, but it was great to just take in how cool the room was. The tour of the Capital building was awesome, and it was crazy to see how tall the Capital Dome is.

We had lunch at pizza place called We, The Pizza. After lunch, we went to the African American History Museumwhich had an amazing sports section. My group was a little late because Mrs. Roiger had turned us around in the Metro a few times 😂. What an adventure that was! The architecture of the building was beautiful and even better from the inside.

Our first full day in D.C. was capped off with a group dinner at Gatsby’s.  It’s been a great day!

Stay tuned for Day 3! Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.