Immersive U.S. Government Experience - Field Trip to Washington D.C.

Classes at Norwich University foster an extreme sense of uniqueness, always changing, growing, and improving. Semester after semester, classes are released that provide endless, unique opportunities that foster connections that last a lifetime and memories that inspire students to try and experience new things! This semester specifically I was offered to take the class “U.S. Security Policy,” which other than being a distinctive class in itself, also includes a paid trip to Washington D.C. as an implemented part of the curriculum. Norwich continuously offers its students classes that not only broaden their interest in a field of study, but that immerse students in a whole new angle to learn from and investigate.

For this security policy class, we started off by learning the foundational system upon which the United States government is

 built upon. We did this by playing fun games allowing us to learn about the government's inner workings, and by listening to guest speakers who are experts in this field.
Furthermore, we learned how to digest informative data from agencies and create memos based on this information. All of these class periods thoroughly prepared us for our trip to Washington D.C. where we were able to apply the knowledge, we had learned to real world scenarios!

The Security Policy trip first started on Sunday night where we met within the hotel, discussing important information for the upcoming week. Although the class had about 12 students, we were broken into two teams allowing for direct competition and fun the entire week. Our competition was to learn and retain as much information as possible throughout the week, and then use all of that knowledge in our own briefing for the “President” on Friday!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was traveling, walking, and riding the metro with all of the other students. Truly, one of the best ways to see and learn about a city is by fully immersing yourself! The metro provided such great learning opportunities and also produced some pretty exciting and funny stories for my team!

From Monday to Thursday, our class visited a wide variety of government agencies and organizations to include: the Department of State, the Office of the National Cyber Director in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, a G-2 Army Brief in the Pentagon, an intelligence company named Seerist, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative. At each location, we were able to learn about the importance of that organization within the United States Government and the critical role that they play in its daily operations. Furthermore, at almost every single organization, we were able to meet either a Norwich alumni or someone who was personally close with a Norwich alumni! Prior to this trip, I never truly comprehended how many Norwich alumni there were, especially working in high positions within the government!

We also had the amazing opportunity to take a West Wing tour of the White House and an
after-hours tour of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which was by far my favorite part! Having the ability to walk the same halls as some of America’s greatest leaders was a feeling like none other!

Washington D.C. opened my eyes to what politics looks like in real-world applications and how every U.S. Agency and policy created heavily impacts the nation's ability to operate effectively and efficiently. 

On Friday, we were able to apply everything we had learned that week to a four-hour-long briefing taking place within the Department of State's Passport Office Building. While this time was stressful, I learned the importance of effective communication and the necessity of working with your partners, especially in a situation as complex as the one we received!

Being a Security Scholar for the 2024 trip to Washington D.C. opened my eyes to what politics looks like in real-world applications and how every U.S. Agency and policy created heavily impacts the nation's ability to operate effectively and efficiently. Studying political science at Norwich University built a solid foundation for me, and for this trip, ensuring that I understood the organizational structure of our government and the role that many individuals play in its complex web. This trip further allowed all of the facts, information, and knowledge I had accumulated over the past three years to be applied in front of my eyes, demonstrating to me how these agencies work in real-time. Furthermore, I learned first-hand experience from a wide variety of government workers, what their jobs consist of, and how their daily lives may differ from what the average American may believe they do.

Visiting D.C. and speaking to these unique individuals proved to me that in order to gain the most insight and reliable information regarding the government, an agency, or a position, it is vital to speak directly to those knowledgeable and working in that specific area. For example, initially coming to D.C. I knew I wanted to go into the government sector in some fashion, however I was not sure what sector.

Now, I understand the difference between party-based jobs and career-based jobs, which I had absolutely no knowledge of prior to this week. For my future, I want to work towards a career-based job, working for the Office of the President in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, in the intelligence sector.

This week also reaffirmed why I chose to major in political science, and why this field of study has so much weight on my daily life. Recognizing how passionate every individual was about their sector, even though they covered completely different aspects of the government, made me excited to eventually enter the government and discover my own realm of passion in an attempt to provide my own service for the benefit of our nation.

The interconnectedness and level of maturity of all individuals and agencies also struck me at every location we visited. From watching television and listening to the news, it can occasionally be arduous as an American citizen to believe that all is well within our country. Nonetheless, the amount of respect that all individuals had for each other, regardless of party, ideologies, or position, was so immense that you could feel the power and great potential radiating from every corner of every government building.

I am forever grateful to Norwich for hosting trips such as this and to have attended! I look forward to continuing my relationships with the invaluable contacts created throughout this trip.