Government in Action: Students’ learning journey to Washington, D.C.

Trip provides juniors with a personal experience of those who devote their lives to public service

Mount Madona School junior high school students at the Pentagon during the 2024 Washington D.C. trip.
Photo courtesy Mount Madonna School.

By Staff Reports

A Mount Madona School junior high school student at the Pentagon during the 2024 Washington D.C. trip. Photo courtesy Mount Madonna School.

The Mount Madonna School junior class, along with their teachers, traveled to Washington, D.C. for a week-long learning journey last month that included tours and interviews with an array of interesting individuals. The class kept a blog of reflections about their experiences available at dc.mountmadonnaschool.org.

On May 15, Mount Madonna School hosted a public “return presentation,” providing the community with an opportunity to hear from the students directly about their experiences. Through the trip, they learned the need for kindness and unity in politics. They also spoke about how struck they were that the people they interviewed were interested in them as well, and wanted to hear their opinions.

This annual learning journey for high school students is part of the MMS Government in Action program started in 1989 by Sadanand Ward Mailliard. During the years, MMS students have been fortunate to meet and interview some of our nation’s finest public servants. The Washington, D.C. learning journey is an integral part of the two-year Values in World Thought class at Mount Madonna School for high school juniors and seniors.

This trip provides juniors with a personal experience of those who devote their lives to public service, while high school seniors engage with an international learning journey to India.

“We are motivated by a sincere desire to inquire into the values and experiences of those who serve our nation in all branches of government and beyond,” said Values in World Thought teacher and Director of Upper School Shannon Kelly. “We interview individuals who are committed to improving the quality of life in our nation and around the world, and who have the values and character that we wish to instill in our students.”

During their trip, students participated in an African American History Tour and visited the Pentagon.

“My classmates and I went on the African American History Tour,” said 11th-grader Emilia Lord. “Our tour guide, Dré, said it well: ‘Learning history is like looking through a prism; how you see it depends on which way you look through it.’ We visited memorials and monuments that represent both beautiful and admittedly ugly aspects of American history. Many of the memorials and monuments have a history and a meaning that lie beneath what the eye can see, and learning about them offers an enlightening view of American history.”

Classmate Manumailagi Hunnicutt was inspired by the classes visit to the Pentagon and hearing from their tour guide, Officer Jackson, about his personal experience in law enforcement and the Army.

“Walking around the Pentagon and seeing all of the personnel in their uniforms was really cool, but what I most loved about the trip is the fact that it reinstated my confidence in pursuing a career in law enforcement,” said Hunnicutt. “Recently, I have been swamped with prepping for college and narrowing down the possibilities of what I want to do in the future. I had started to doubt if my aspirations to be in law enforcement, whether as a crime scene investigator or as an FBI agent, is even possible, or if I am up for the challenge. However, what Jackson had to say gave me the confidence to think that a career in law enforcement is something I can actually have.”

The growth and positive character development aspects of learning and travel beyond the classroom’s walls cannot be understated.

“In a time of division, the Government in Action program provides students the opportunity to actively listen with open minds and hearts,” Kelly said. “It is our belief we can positively impact the world by engaging in conversations of meaning, being curious, and being open to learning from people with different perspectives and lived experiences.”