In October, McConnell Scholars of all ages were invited to attend a 3 day conference in Washington, DC that was focused on Capitol politics. The McConnell Center hosted the trip and even covered all expenses for the McConnell Scholars who chose to take the trip.
Over the course of the 3 day trip, we had the opportunity to meet and interact with some of the United States top lawmakers and their staffs. We also had the chance to take special tours that were arranged through the McConnell Center and Senator Mitch McConnell's Washington, DC staff. Among our special tours were tours of the White House and even the "Special Treasures Vault" at the National Archives.
During our tour of the White House, I noticed a white stripe across the front of my suit after leaning through a doorway to see one of the rooms. I looked around trying to figure out what I had done and then I saw a piece of paper on the ground. I picked the paper up and flipped it over to see that it said "WET PAINT." It had fallen off the wall where it had originally been taped up. Needless to say, I was not very happy that my suit had been ruined but, I did jokingly say that I got to take a pretty unique souvenir away from the world's most famous Exectuive Mansion.
Our tour of the Legislative vault at the National Archives was also something really special. On the tour, we were able to sit down in a room and see the original documents that make up some of the most important artifacts in American history. We got to see the hand-written Inaugural address of George Washington. We saw the handwritten nomination of Ulysses Grant to be General of the Union Army by President Lincoln. Along with these neat artifacts, we also saw hand written documents from Kentucky's own Henry Clay.
All in all, the trip to Washington was a great capstone experience for me. So much has changed since I went to the Washington with the McConnell Program just before my freshman year of college. Now, as a senior, I enjoyed being able to reflect on my own growth as a person over the course of my 4 years of college.