Choate students pose in front of the Supreme Court of the United States.
After a two-year hiatus, members of Choate’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) Program in Government and Public Service joined with the Honors U.S. Government and Politics II class for a trip to Washington, D.C.. From January 29 to 31, students toured buildings in the capital and met Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Chris Murphy, and Richard Blumenthal, House Representative Stacey Plaskett, and various other accomplished members of government and politics. While the trip is traditionally exclusive to students in the U.S. Government and Politics II course, members of the Class of the 2023 JFK cohort were also invited to attend this year.
Initially, there were many concerns regarding former Covid-19 restrictions and their impacts on the students’ experiences. However, as U.S. Government teacher and trip organizer, Mr. Jonas Akins described, “The trip was very smooth and a great success.” Over the course of two days, students were able to visit both the Supreme Court and the United States Capitol building. They were also allowed entrance into the court and were able to tour the buildings. Director of the JFK Program Mr. Ned Gallagher has arranged the trip for several years. He shared, “Our timing is great because only in the last few weeks have things really opened up, and the buildings have been opened to the public. So, in some ways, it went much more smoothly than I expected.”
Beyond meeting Congress members, students attended a Choate alumni event at the Army and Navy Club, where they heard from journalist Hedrick Smith and Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) Counsel Dan Chang. In addition to asking Smith and Chang questions, students engaged with alumni from various fields and expertise. Mr. Gallagher shared that the importance of the trip was clear “when we listened to so many people at the alumni dinner, or that we spoke with, say when they were at Choate, they came to D.C., and that opened their eyes to different possibilities.”
Throughout the meetings on Monday and Tuesday, students were given the opportunity to ask experts questions and learn about their jobs in the fields of government and politics. This experience inspired many students to envision themselves in those roles and consider what careers they want to pursue in the future.
Leila Sherriff ’24, a U.S. Government and Politics II class member, explained, “The highlight of this trip was meeting people who had real-life experience in D.C. and seeing the path they made from being Choate students to being real influential people on the Hill.” Among her favorite speakers of the trip, she mentioned Senator Chris Murphy as “exceptional and a real amazing example of a good politician.”
Sherriff shared that this trip has inspired her to think more about her future in government classes and extracurricular activities. “Seeing all the theories that we analyze in class being used in real life is incredibly helpful to me understanding them,” she said, “I’m definitely going to use the connections I made on the D.C. trip to potentially get an internship for the JFK program.”
Sofia Muñoz ’23, a member of the Class of 2023 JFK cohort, shared, “I think that really helped balance out opinions with the diversity of grades and also the strengths of having people in the program and not in the program.” She added, “It was just awesome that they were able to put this together even after Covid because I know my cohort was really sad that we were not able to go last year.”
Most attendees would agree that the trip was smooth and successful. Mr. Akins shared, “This was the best trip to D.C. in my time at Choate. The opportunity to fully engage with three senators, a member of the House of Representatives, and Choate alumni involved as lobbyists, Foreign Service Officers, and all of the other vocations represented at the alumni dinner at the Army and Navy Club was just extraordinary.” Beyond hearing from exceptional people, Mr. Akins and Mr. Gallagher were most proud of the students’ curiosity and intelligence when conversing with speakers Mr. Akins concluded, “I thought the students did a masterful job of drawing them out on particular topics and really engaging with them on a particularly high level.”
