Jan 9, 2023 5 min read

For more than a decade, students with Waynesburg University’s Stover Center have traveled to Washington D.C., to explore the capital and job opportunities, and to network.

But the timing of this trip, a ten-day conference hosted by The Washington Center, is especially illuminating.

“”We’ve met with many people: Justice Sotomayor, the late Justice Scalia, former Justice O’Connor. We’ve met with Senator Toomey twice and Senator Casey, as well as judges, lobbyists,” said Dr. Lawrence “Larry” Stratton during a phone interview from D.C. Thursday.

“This is something new. We’ve never taken part in this particular Inside Washington conference. (Friday was) two years after Jan. 6. Discussions about the state of the American democracy are there before us. There’s the perpetual voting of the Speaker (of the House),” Stratton said before Republicans selected U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker in the early hours Saturday. “It’s pretty cool.”

Stratton and three students are focused on enjoying the conference, which is a “Choose Your Own Adventure” of sorts with opportunities to connect with D.C. professionals, engage in debates with about 300 students from 20 universities and colleges nationwide, attend plenaries and explore the city. But they can’t help hear the buzz of history in the making.

“Usually politicians act in a way that promotes their self interest, but this doesn’t seem to promote anyone’s self interest,” Stratton said. “It shows how fragile things are. Speaking with some of the (public relations) people trying to promote policy right now, it’s all on hold because no one knows what the state of things are.”

Stratton and the three students who accompanied him to Inside Washington were having a wonderful time amid the historic week at the nation’s capital.

“Being here in a week where so much is going on with voting for the Speaker of the House has been very special,” said junior Ethan Lown, a political science major on the pre-law track. “We just happened to be here. It’s been great; we’ve had a great week. My expectations were to just hear from a lot of speakers, hear and have discussions with students from across the country. All those expectations have been met. I think just spending time in the city has been the highlight for me, being able to walk around, seeing the different monuments and hearing from such a diverse group of speakers.”

Since Inside Washington kicked off Jan. 3, Stratton and the WU crew, along with their team of Temple University students and staff, have met with ambassadors to African countries, toured Capital Hill and dined with Waynesburg alum who now hold political and legal positions in D.C. They, along with San Antonio College attendees, visited APCO Worldwide, an advisory and advocacy communications consulting firm, and engaged in friendly debates.

“It’s not often you get to spend a week in D.C. hearing from so many important and high profile people,” said Micah Leith, a senior communications major from Bedford County who serves as the executive editor of the Waynesburg University Yellow Jacket.

Students have also attended keynote speeches by notable Washington D.C.-ites, including Dr. Fiona Hill, who earned her doctorate in Soviet Studies at Harvard, wrote a biography on Russian president Vladimir Putin and serves as Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute.

“We met with a woman who is just out of college and works as a lobbyist for the Sandy Hook Foundation, which seeks to promote mental health for high school students. She discussed what it’s like moving out of college to Washington, D.C.,” said Stratton. “That’s the type of theoretical and abstract public policy, down to how do you live in Washington D.C., how do you afford it, how do you network?”

Inside Washington at The Washington Center concludes Wednesday, and already Stratton is looking forward to next year’s D.C. trip – hopefully with more students. This year’s experience was made possible through grant funding, and the trial trip exceeded expectations.

“I’m impressed. I knew that The Washington Center was very interested in helping students sort of find their niche in Washington,” he said, but he didn’t know just how impactful Inside Washington would be.

“So many Washington D.C. programs strike me as you go there and you’re with all liberals or you’re with all conservatives, and this is diverse. For me, it’s the D.C. Spark, or the lightbulb moment, that I’m seeing not only in my students from Waynesburg University but also in these students from Temple. One student … went to meet with this public relations office, initially not being very interested in it. As the discussion kept moving, the PR experts spoke, and she suddenly was passionately interested,” Stratton said.

Stratton said watching friendships form between students from different places, with varied backgrounds and interests, has been fun, and he’s enjoyed networking with faculty from across the country.

Ultimately, 10 historic days on Capitol Hill is an engrossing, informative adventure Stratton would like to share with more WU students.

“It’s a way to expand horizons,” Stratton said. “I view it as an opportunity to expose Waynesburg students to more possibilities within Washington D.C. and the shaping of public policy.”