Journal From The Beltway, Week 3

DC WEEK 3
 
Week 3 at SPS was the busiest one yet. We started the week with a tour of the senate with Chris Dodd, former Connecticut senator and DNC chairman. His daughter is in the program with us, so we got an exclusive look, including being able to go onto the floor of the senate. (I’m not sure if I can really say this, but, there is a desk on the senate dedicated to snacks. I thought I should share.) 

My favorite part of this tour was being up in the gallery, because I was able to wave to my friend who is a page from Alabama this summer, and we were able to watch the proposition on the carbon tax bill that is causing some controversy at the moment. Watching the three senators from Maine, New Mexico, and Hawaii was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life. That might sound a little dramatic, but it was so inspiring to see these senators propose something they really believe in and something they think will better the lives of millions of Americans and future generations. The political climate right now is not too accepting of views like theirs, and it was so inspiring to see the greatest aspects of our democracy in action.

Besides visiting the senate, this week we visited a few museums, including the Newseum and the Air and Space museum, we had a twilight monument tour, we visited Georgetown University, and we met with the Australian ambassador. Although I cannot go into great detail on our discussion with the ambassador, I can say he has to be one of the nicest and funniest diplomats the world has ever seen.

I also had the opportunity to visit the United States Institute of Peace twice this week. On Monday, I attended a discussion about the North Korean sanctions with a panel of experts from the state department and law firms in DC. On Friday, I attended an event at USIP that honored 4 “peace teachers” that were selected from across the country to use the initiatives of the USIP in their classrooms for the 2018-2019 school year. 

While traveling all over DC for these mini trips and events, we also spent the week working on our bills. We were tasked with completing a press release and a presentation for a news conference the following Monday. We also started working on our congressional debates for the next week. 
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For our last week at SPS, we will be meeting with Jane Meyer, senator Sheldon, Chris Matthews, and Cory Booker, while completing our bill projects.