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Fifteen students from Montclair State University recently
traveled to Washington DC to participate in a ten-day seminar presented by the
Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars. Featuring high-profile
guest speakers and site visits to places such as embassies, nonprofit groups,
and Capitol Hill, the program provided the students ample opportunity to learn,
and to experience life in the nation’s capitol.
“This program brings together all the important elements of
experiential education—interaction with decision makers, discussion with
professionals and highly motivated students interested in the field, as well as
the opportunity to network and make key contacts,” says Bryan Murdock, Director
of Experiential Education and the faculty leader of the Montclair State
delegation. “These elements enhance learning beyond the traditional classroom
experience.”
Joining other college and university students from around
the country, the Montclair State delegation spent the ten days learning about how
things are done in Washington and about the impact of media on American
politics. Speakers included many well-known Washington insiders such as Dana
Perino, the White House Press Secretary for George W. Bush, Ted Koppel, the
former anchor of NBC’s “Nightline,” and Bob Schieffer, CBS Evening News Anchor
and moderator of “Face the Nation.”
“I’d always seen Ted Koppel on TV and Dana Perino speaking,
and when I saw…that they were scheduled to speak, I realized what a prestigious
program this is and that I was really on something pretty special,” says
sophomore participant Kyle Peters. “To hear them speak was really quite
amazing.”
Most of the students capped their Washington DC experience
by attending the Presidential Inauguration on January 20. Eight were able to
obtain tickets and view the proceedings from a special section while the rest
joined the estimated 1.8 million other spectators on the Mall. It was an
exciting day for everyone there, and a fitting close to an experience that few of
the delegation will soon forget.
“For many of the students, this was their first visit to Washington DC and their first opportunity to have a bird’s-eye view of the national political arena,” explains Murdock. “While I think it’s terrific that so many of our students took part in the program during this exciting time in history, what's most exciting is to have witnessed the truly transformative effect it had on the students.”