Students from Suffolk University’s Political Science and Legal Studies Department attended a three-week long seminar in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of January this year. The seminar led by political science Professor Christina Kulich, ran from Jan. 7 to Jan. 21 and featured numerous events such as President Jimmy Carter’s memorial, a visit to the Library of Congress and a series of discussions with Suffolk alumni who now work within the city.
Kulich started taking cohorts of students to Washington, D.C. in 2016, and described reconnecting with former students as a full-circle moment.
“There is a very lively group of both Washington Center and SU young alumni who are living and working in Washington and happy to pay it forward,” said Kulich. “It is an incredibly meaningful part of this trip.”
This year, students attended Carter’s lying-in-state at the U.S Capitol Rotunda on their first full day of the seminar. Carter, who died Dec. 29 at the age of 100, served as the 39th president of the United States and impacted many during his long life of advocacy and humanitarian work.
Despite the rain and freezing temperatures, freshman political science major Joey Pisani said for him the funeral was “grounding” and important to acknowledge the death of someone who to him embodied humanity.
“I found myself crying, he has always been one of my favorite presidents just because of the way he approached people,” said Pisani.
Junior politics, philosophy and economics major Ruby Walsh said the experience was once-in-a-lifetime.
“It was just an honor to be there,” said Walsh.
During a member-only access tour on the floor of the House of Representatives on the third day of the trip, Suffolk alumni Allie Polaski and Adriano Pucci spoke to students about their careers and offered advice to the students. Both Polaski and Pucci were Kulich’s former students who now work in communications: Polaski currently works under Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, ranking member of the Rules Committee and Pucci works for Rep. Lou Correa of California.
“It’s really inspiring to see people like me in those positions of authority,” said Walsh. “Talking to the people who inspire me, it completely reignited a spark within my career.”
Suffolk alumna and current student in Nation Intelligence University’s Master of Science Program Isabel Baynum arranged and accompanied the students on a tour of the Pentagon Jan 14. Another alumni event featured a meeting and discussion with double-Suffolk alumnus Roger Fisk, who had a career in the CIA that spanned over 45 years before retiring. Fisk served as a former aide for Sen. John Kerry and worked on Kerry’s campaign before joining President Barack Obama’s re-election team in 2012.
Senior political science student Grace Kane said the opportunity to meet with political professionals gave her a window into the future she is working towards, noting that there were multiple points throughout the seminar where her passion for public policy was reignited.
“It’s really cool to see figures who really align with how you see yourself in the future and it was nice to sit down and have conversations with them,” said Kane.
Kane said visiting Congressman Richie Neil, the representative in her hometown area of western Massachusetts, and seeing his aides was inspiring as a senior.
“It was really nice to sit down and have conversations with them and hearing them say they were in our spots a year ago,” said Kane.
Numerous discussions across the three weeks featured different political professionals such as National Security Expert Charles Carithers, Congressional Reporter Max Cohen, Director of Immigration Studies David Bier and Senior Health Policy Advisor Darbin Woffold, among others.
Through the seminar, Kulich hopes students can understand the greater possibilities of where their careers can take them after college.
“All of the people who spoke to us, who we visited, the places we went, the things that they did gave them a much wider window into worlds they didn’t know existed,” said Kulich.
Walsh said getting to speak to the professionals during the discussions in the seminar helped her step out of her comfort zone.
“I walked away from the entire program with so much knowledge, so much inspiration and I am so much more self-confident,” said Walsh. “This made me really believe in myself.”
The current divisive political climate has left many feeling uncertain over what may transpire over the course of the next four years. Amidst the chaos, the trip allowed for Pisani to reconnect with the gravity behind the transition into the Trump administration.
“I think being in D.C. in the weeks leading up to what I knew would just be absolute chaos and extremism by the incoming administration, it was frightening, but it was also very grounding to be there,” said Pisani.
For Walsh, the seminar served as a reminder that education can fight intolerance.
“At the end of the day, the real inspiration comes down to: If you have love in your heart, now is the time to use your knowledge against the hate and that’s what I walked away with from this seminar,” said Walsh.
