On March 25, 2018, 22 scholars flew out to Washington, D.C. The scholars and their three chaperones got to see historical sites, the Smithsonian Museums, university campuses and learned about our nation’s history while on the trip.

The tour of American University was extra special as a PSP alumni José G. gave students a private tour of campus and spoke about his experiences in PSP and now as a student at American University. Keep reading for more about the college tours, sight-seeing and scholar reflections on the trip.

PSP scholars first went to Arlington Memorial Cemetery where they saw the changing on the guard ceremony and witnessed the last ceremony for one of the soldier’s participating. They also visited many Smithsonian Museums from Air and Space to Indian American and the National Portrait Gallery.

Scholars were able to see historical sites from Mount Vernon to the Washington Monument. They also toured Georgetown University and American University. The tour of American University was extra special as a PSP alumni José G. gave students a private tour of campus and spoke on his experiences in PSP and as a student at American University.

José recalled that he was assigned American University to research during his time at our annual College Success Retreat and that inspired him to apply to the university during his senior year. He was later accepted during early decision and committed to attending American University to pursue his love of politics and Latin American studies.

PSP scholars spent five days in the city and returned to California on March 30^th. PSP trips outside of California aim to expand the horizons of our scholars and allow them to visit prospective colleges and universities for when they apply to college in the near future. We asked our scholars to reflect on their time in D.C. and their responses are below.

“Going to Washington DC for the first time was so much fun and such a great experience. I enjoyed traveling on a plane for the first time, meeting lots of new people, and visiting interesting new places. My favorite part of the trip was exploring all of the meaningful memorials throughout the city. My favorite memorial that we visited was the Lincoln memorial because it was so cool to see it in person and I love the history behind it and how Martin Dr. Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in that memorial. Lastly, I also enjoyed experiencing the cold weather that we don’t usually have in California. Overall the trip was so much fun and an experience that I will never forget.” Jennifer H.

“Visiting DC was amazing! I enjoyed visiting the National Monuments because they taught me a little bit more of America’s history. My favorite part was visiting the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery because I liked the portrait of Obama. I really liked Georgetown University for its medical program and would be interested in applying there. I got to make new friends with the scholars from Lennox. Overall, I had such a good time visiting DC and making new memories with new friends.” Alexander R.

“I really enjoyed visiting Washington DC for the first time. It is smaller than Los Angeles which i liked because it is easier to around. I also really liked that all the monuments were so close together. My favorite monument is the Lincoln Memorial because Lincoln was an amazing president, Martin Luther King Jr gave his speech there and it offers such a great view of the Washington Monument. I loved eating at Ben’s Chili Bowl and learning about all the celebrities that have been there. Lastly, it was great to meet other scholars and I look forward to talking to them again.” Eduardo M.

“My favorite memory of the trip was the change of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. It was so amusing the way they did everything very precise and so carefully. I very much enjoyed the national monuments because I feel that it is a great way to represent important people that have done many things for our country.” Jasmine O.

“Visiting DC was one of the best experiences I have had with PSP. The city was nice and it was quiet even though people are known for protesting there. I liked the air and space museum although my favorite part of the trip was visiting Georgetown because I feel like I could apply to that school in the near future. That school was one of the nicest I have seen while visiting any university. I really liked how it kind of looked modern and old at the same time. I met new people and I even started to talk more to the people that go to my school and other schools.” Marcos A.

“Washington D.C. was such a beautiful place and I’m so glad I was able to go and explore all it’s beautiful sights. We got to visit museums, memorials, and other historical places. My favorite museum that I got to visit was the Newseum because I got to experience stories and tragedies that happened in our nation through the eyes of the media. I also liked this museum because it promotes the idea of free expression and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Also, I loved visiting the Lincoln Memorial because it was such a beautiful memorial and I’ve always seen photographs of it on my textbooks and I was glad to finally see it in person. We also visited colleges, such as The American University and I really felt in love with campus that I’m considering applying there. I loved meeting new people that came to this trip because they were all so amazing and very outgoing. I got to meet new friends from different schools and we all got a long so well!” Jennifer C.

PSP scholars from Kranz Intermediate in El Monte were also in D.C. for the week for their annual trip to our nation’s capital and Pennsylvania.