Georgetown University

Yesterday night I went to sleep around 11 PM because I was finishing up with my blog. My cohorts and I once again needed to wake up early for the flight to Washington D.C. Everyone needed to meet in the lobby at 4 AM to get the shuttle bus to take us to the airport. My alarm was Oyin she called me to wake me up so I can get ready because if we were not in the lobby at 4 AM Alie was going to have a deep talk with whoever was late. Waking up early was important because we needed to catch the airplane on time. Fortunately, everyone made it on time and we had an extra hour to get on the plane.  Meanwhile we were waiting to aboard the plane my cohorts and I were working on our blogs to get it done with it.  I was sleepy so I decided to get a coffee to wake me up. I ordered a Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks. Then it was time for us to get in the plane and head out to Washington, D.C.

When we landed at Washington, D.C we got a shuttle bus to take us to our hotel, Holiday Inn. Alie gave us an hour to finish our blog but I was having difficulties trying to put Wi-Fi in my computer.  I asked Oyin for her help and she couldn't find the problem why my Wi-Fi was not working.  After Oyin tried several times I decide to go to the lobby and asked for help.  I told them that I was having problems with the Wi-Fi and it was not letting me connect to it.  The guy in the front desk fixed my computer and he was able to put the Wi-Fi on. At that time, I needed to go already because my cohort and I were going to walk to the National Mall in Washington. Before we headed out to the Mall we got ourselves some salad to eat at Sweetgreen, to take it to the President’s park and eat there. We arrived at the park and searched for shade to sit down and eat.

When we were finished eating we walked to the White House and took some pictures with my cohort. It was very hot and I was wearing my soccer sweatpants and a sweater because when we arrived at Washington, D.C  in the morning it was sprinkling, but then later on it got hot. We walked to Lincoln memorial and Washington monument and took pictures.  I couldn't believe I was at the Lincoln Memorial park because I have read about it in my history book but I never thought that I would be standing in front of Lincoln's statue.  It was a great experience for me being there and knowing that a lot of history has happened there.

We weren't able to go visit museums because we didn't have enough time so we headed out to our tour at Georgetown University. Our tour was at 2:30 PM. Our tour guide's name is Charlotte and she’s going to be a senior next semester.  She told us about the school traditions and one of the tradition I thought it was very cool is when the students steal the clock hands and send them to the pope. I thought this is cool because I don’t know how the students were able to take the clock hands out of the tower because is very high up.

Georgetown is the oldest school in the country and is very unique because of their gothic buildings. All their buildings were made of stone and some are being remodeled. The school was founded on January 23, 1789--that’s more than two centuries old.  Georgetown is not just the oldest school in the country but is one of the top schools in the country, too. I like that a lot of famous and political people have given speeches in the school, for example President Obama has spoken as well as Bill Clinton.  Overall I think Georgetown is a perfect school because it's not too big and not too small.  It’s easy to get around the school and the students motivate each other and help each other and that’s what I’m looking for in a school.

After the tour finished, we came back to the hotel to get ready for our dinner with the alumni at 6:30 PM at The City Tavern Club.  We needed to meet each other at the lobby at 6:10 PM. When the clock hit 6:10 PM and everyone was at the lobby we headed out to the restaurant.  We got to the restaurant and we saw Andrew Gonzalez (who was part of ILC during his sophomore and junior years).  Andrew is from Richmond, California and attended Pinole Valley High School.  

It’s amazing how this program can change your life like it changed Andrew's life. He told us that he was not thinking about studying in the east and right now he is in an internship at Washington, D.C. That’s not all: he’s at Brown University and he is going to be a junior this semester.  This is how I know that this program can really change your life and give you more options to which schools you want to go to.  Andrew like any Californian he wanted to go to the UC’s Universities but since he was in ILC and got to explore the east and he fell in love with Brown University when he was taking a course there during his junior year.

Then another alumni came in and he’s name is Sean and he is the head of Georgetown DC Alum. In the back of Sean another alumni came in and her name is Katherine. Then Trevor came in and we all introduced ourselves to him. Trevor was the one who suggested the restaurant and I liked it, the steak was so tasty too. Then Nashaat came in and she amazed me with how many languages she can speak.  Nashaat can speak at least four languages. One of the languages she can speak is Russian. She’s majoring in international foreign policies because her dream is to go around the world and she wants to work in the Middle East. I like that she was so passionate about talking about her school and how much she loves it. She gave us a good advice that I like and it was to not compare yourself to others and just be yourself because if you compare yourself to others you will get nowhere.

Then Kevin came in, he was running a little bit late but I got to know him very well. He graduated last year and he says that he misses the school already. It’s so awesome all the things that he has done throughout his four years at Georgetown University. He worked with celebrities at an internship and one of the celebrities that he worked with was Brad Pitt. The way he told me about his experiences and all the things he has done during his college years made me fall in love with the school. They have a lot of opportunities and internships that the school provides. It was good knowing him because he’s a writer, too, and he gave me his business card and email and I told him I was going to email him whenever I need help. Kevin used to play tennis in school and now he’s working at Weber Shandwick from 9 AM to 6 PM. I think is amazing Georgetown is in two cities but the university is their own community.

my cohort and I

The alumni and us.