The senior class of 2022 carried on the John Carroll tradition of attending the Washington, D.C. trip on Monday, April 4. Seniors arrived to school early and boarded buses which took them to D.C.

Trip Coordinator Louise Geczy planned a full day of events for the students. Mrs. Geczy said, “Field trips such as the senior class trip to Washington D.C. are an important educational experience. The D.C. trip brings history to life.”
The students were first dropped off at either the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial or the World War II Memorial and were given time to walk around and explore these area.
One group of seniors got to meet and take pictures with Martin Luther King Jr’s son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter who were at the memorial to commemorate the anniversary of his assassination.
Senior Rosalie McGuirk said, “It was cool not only to see the memorial but also to meet part of MLK’s family, especially on such an important date.”
After visiting the memorials, students boarded their buses and headed to the Holocaust Museum.
At the museum, each student received a passport that had the name and information of a person affected by the Holocaust. This gave guests a personal connection to one of the victims.
The museum provided an educational and emotional experience for students to get to learn more about the events surrounding the Holocaust. One of the exhibits that had a huge impact on many students was a train car in which many victims were transported.
Visitors to the museum were allowed to walk through the train car and imagine what it might have been like when packed with a hundred individuals.
Senior Abby Leslie said, “It was really powerful learning about that part of history that we aren’t always exposed to. I really enjoyed this field trip as a whole and encourage everyone to make the most of it.”
After the museum, students were taken to the Pentagon City Mall for lunch in the mall’s food court and for some free time to walk around.
The last event on the day’s agenda was to visit Arlington National Cemetery, a military cemetery where many American veterans are buried. Many students and chaperones on the trip were able to find gravestones belonging to members of their families.
Additionally, students were able to see the graves of President John F. Kennedy and his wife. They also saw areas dedicated to the memories of those lost in the space shuttle disasters.
Mrs. Geczy commented, “You cannot walk through Arlington Cemetery and not get a sense of the sacrifice that conflict involves and the importance of memorializing.”
Students were able to witness the Changing of the Guard, a ceremony occurring every half hour in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a tomb that holds the bodies of four unidentified soldiers who were killed in World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
The Changing of the Guards is an elaborate ceremony where new guards replace the previous ones. The guards stand in front of the tomb for 24 hours a day. During the Changing of the Guard, soldiers march 21 steps in each direction to symbolize the highest military honor.
Mrs. Geczy said, “For me, the best part of the D.C. [trip] for any year does not occur while the trip is taking place. The best part for me are the reflection responses that seniors share post-trip when they share the impact that the experience has had on them.”