By Kat Camberg and Lindsay Newfeld

Over spring break, the senior class had the phenomenal opportunity to spend six days on a trip to Washington D.C. bonding with their classmates. TPA seniors past and present often describe this trip as one of their fondest memories from their senior year, and one of their favorite experiences from their time at TPA.

The senior trip is a reward for all the hard work seniors put into their years of attending TPA, and especially their time spent working on their senior thesis. Our current senior class had an amazing, rewarding time on their senior trip. Many can agree with Patrick Pagnozzi’s words when he said, “I can’t choose a favorite part of senior trip, I just loved being there with my friends in the heart of America.” It seemed that everyone had something different that they really loved about the trip.

Our trip began rather chaotically when on the morning of our first day in D.C. we got lost on the Metro. Natalie Henderson explained, “One of my favorite memories of senior trip was when we got separated from the chaperones and had to figure out the Metro system ourselves.”

After working together to figure out the subway system, it was off to the Library of Congress. This was a favorite of Carter Sampson’s who described it as “beautiful and just a cool place to be.”

Right next door, the seniors visited the Supreme Court. We had the opportunity to tour the museum and sit in the chambers where history is made. Keeping with the fast pace of the day, we went to take a tour of the Capitol. After a few run-ins with the Capitol’s security, the seniors took a captivating tour of the Capitol.

The next stop was the Newseum, a favorite for numerous seniors. Harish Ilango praised the Newseum for its “cool, interesting, and touching presentation of modern history.” Many seniors recall feeling touched by the museum’s exhibit of Pulitzer Prize winning photographs. The seniors wrapped up a busy first day with a relaxing dinner together at a local Italian restaurant.

The second day of the trip was more relaxing but equally as fun. It began with a boat cruise to George Washington’s home, Mt. Vernon. Rebekah Smaw said that the visit to Mt. Vernon was her personal favorite part of the senior trip explaining, “It was so cool to see how George Washington would have lived and learn about the history. It was also so beautiful there.” The seniors seem to all agree that exploring the grounds of Mt. Vernon was an amazing experience.

The seniors had some down time before the next big event of the night: watching The Wiz at Ford’s Theater. The show was a lively, entertaining rendition of The Wizard of Oz, and it was a refreshing break from the history overload of D.C. Brendan Phelan said this was his favorite part of the trip because, “The play was so funny and interesting and I had a great time seeing the show with my friends.” This was another great day for the books.

We were now at the official halfway point of the trip and we were rewarded with a day completely to ourselves. The seniors had nine hours, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., to tour as many Smithsonians as we could and take in the breathtaking views of the National Mall. With 11 museums and galleries all located walking distance from each other on the Mall, each senior visited different Smithsonians and had a completely unique experience.

Ahmad Jones said his favorite part of the trip was visiting the recently opened National Museum of African American History and Culture because, “There was so much information in the museum and it was all presented in a really interesting way. I was there for two hours and I only saw two out of the four floors in the museum.”

While Ahmad was busy learning about African American history, Jacob Steineke was touring the National Gallery. Jacob described his experience as “fascinating, unique, and one that elevated my soul.”

After a long day of museums, the seniors all ate dinner on their own and then had the opportunity to take a walking tour of the monuments at night. Kierstin Thigpen said this was her favorite part of the trip: “All of the monuments were lit up and extremely beautiful. It was really awesome to have that experience with all of my friends.” By the end of the night, every senior on the trip had sore feet from walking so much, but the memories made were worth it.

That brings us to the last day of the trip before we headed home. After waking up extremely early (before the hotel even began serving breakfast), we boarded the Metro to Arlington Cemetery. Olek Piechaczek said, “I loved seeing the JFK Eternal Flame at Arlington Cemetery. I know a lot about JFK and I have a lot of respect for him, so seeing his gravesite was a really somber but also awe-inspiring moment.”

Then it was back on the Metro to the Holocaust Museum, which was Liam Collins’s favorite museum. He said, “I learned a lot about the Holocaust and there were a lot of photographs in the museum that showed what it was really like for people in Concentration Camps.”

After visiting the second-largest cemetery in the United States and touring a museum devoted to one of the worst genocides in history, it was time for something a little more light-hearted: meeting one of our very own senators, Jeff Flake. Max Hoyt described meeting Sen. Flake as “very inspiring; he was a really interesting guy and it was a lot of fun talking with him.”

The seniors then wrapped up their last night with a nice dinner at an amazing Mexican Restaurant – and a little snowfall on the way back to the hotel.

After four long days, the seniors boarded a plane back to Tempe. While the trip was not actually very long, we had so many activities packed into those four days that it felt like a lot. There is no doubt that this trip brought the seniors closer together and created memories that will last forever. This is one of the best traditions at TPA and hopefully many more senior classes will get to experience it!