On Sunday October 9th, 23 students were given the opportunity to go Washington D.C. all thanks to a federal grant given to the Trio Program. Throughout this grant competition, funds are awarded to institutions of higher education to provide opportunities for academic development, assist students with basic college requirements, and to motivate students toward the successful completion of their post secondary education. The program was designed to give the opportunity to students that weren't able to or had to struggle in order to go to college. The Trio Program also known as CSS is called Project Reach at Cazenovia College. The Program Director is Kailyn Vannostrand, Kayle Curtin is the Academic Coach/Counselor, Adair Milmoe is the Administrative Assistant and Elizabeth “Betty” Dana is the writing coach.

The trip began on Sunday and the first stop was a visit to the Smithsonian Museums, which has a total of 19 museums. 17 of these museums are located in Washington D.C., and 11 of them located on the National Mall. While at the National mall we stopped to eat at a variety of vendors and Walid Ibrahim, who is a Sophomore believes that “The side vendors and Halal food opened up my taste buds to a new level of love for food” and also believes the trip was beneficial cultural wise. After enjoying the food from the vendors, a couple of students were able to see the newly designed and highly anticipated National Museum of African American History and Culture. This was personally one of the best museums I have ever been to and it was quite a memorable experience. From the moment we took the elevator, which showed important dates in History and took us back all the way to 1619 where Slavery in America first began, to taking a picture with one of my biggest idols Serena and Venus Williams (sadly just their statues). Visiting the museum made me appreciate who I am, where I come from and what people had to go through in order for me to have freedom and liberty. Other student chose to see the National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of the American Indian, and many others. Andromeda Daley, a Project Reach mentor who attended the trip calls her experience at the museum as “amazing as the wonders of the cosmos.”

Our next stop was the Kennedy Center where we saw a show called “Shear Madness,” which is a really hilarious whodunit where the audience gets to catch the killer. The show was very unique because it lets the audience interact with the actors and be part of the plot. We were able to get front row seats to the show and we even got a shout out during the performance, which was quite lit. Betty, who is the writing coach for Project reach recalls the show as a "breathtakingly beautiful array of colors and music that seduced me into the lull of Happy Days and Steel Magnolias...when in reality I was watching a devious murder unfold". After a fun, historical and memorable day, we had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and checked into our hotel and we all couldn't wait to see what the next day had in store.

The next day was jam packed! Our tour guide, Eric, made the trip so much more memorable and I learned so much more that day about Washington D.C. than I have ever learned before. We were able to see one of the front views of the White House while Obama was inside. We saw nearly all the memorials in D.C. Our stops included The Lincoln Memorial, The Korean War Veterans Memorial, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and so much more. My most memorable sight was the U.S. Capitol building, I plan on becoming a U.S. Senator in the near future and visiting the building was just one step closer to my dream. Ibrahim Badji, who is also a Project Reach mentor, looks back at his visit at the capitol as a “very eye opening” experience.

Our first stop on our last day was a visit to Howard University, which is a historically black college in the District of Columbia, where all undergraduate students complete a university wide core curriculum. I literally had shivers when I first stepped in the college and saw how many black men and women were there. People of color have been historically deprived to an education and had to struggle to get where they are at right now, so seeing this university was just amazing and would make so many past activists that fought for equality, like Martin Luther King Jr., proud.

Overall, the trip to Washington D.C. was very educational and Senior, Maxime Centeno says, “The D.C. trip was a great experience [and] I learned a lot of things about the history of the United States.” Reading about history is great but actually going to the place where freedom was discussed and where law is made is a whole different experience.

I recommend anyone that cares or wants to expand their knowledge on American history to really visit Washington D.C. A special shout out to Kailyn Vannostrand who made the phone calls and emails necessary in order for us to go to this trip, if you have any questions about Project Reach you can email her at kwvannorstrand(@)cazenovia.edu.