Nothing can compare with the experience I had in Washington D.C. Within the first week of my arrival I learned more than any number of years behind a school desk could teach me. There are invaluable lessons learned through experience that simply cannot be replicated in the classroom. For instance, speaking to people who have actually “been there”. Not only did I read about refugees in my texts, I spoke with one as well. Not only did I read about Corporate Social Responsibility, I spoke with an expert in USAID on the topic. Where learning in the classroom gives concepts, experience provides students with the opportunity to apply these concepts. My experience in Washington D.C. provided me with a concrete foundation for the knowledge I have learned at college. I will attempt to explain the value of my experience in D.C. by writing about a few of the first-hand experiences I had in our nation’s capital.

As part of my experience in Washington D.C. with the Lutheran College Washington Consortium, I was required to attend a protest. Thousands of people showed up September 29th in Freedom Plaza across from where I worked at the Ronald Reagan b

These are just a few of the many lessons I learned from being in Washington D.C. during such a volatile time in our history. I do not know if I would have cared so much about civic affairs if I had been on the Valparaiso University campus this semester. I am pretty sure, however, that I would not have been so affected by the tragic events that have ensued. I hope to bring the knowledge that I have learned in Washington D.C. back the Valparaiso University campus. Next semester, I hope to start our very own chapter of Amnesty International on our campus. If there is anything that I have learned from my trip to Washington D.C. and the events that happened on September 11th it is that the United States does not stand alone. Even people living in the middle of cornfields have to take notice of global affairs. We cannot close our eyes to the world around us. It is this mentality that led many of us to believe before September 11th that Osama Bin Laden was not a true threat to our country, and that there are truly no great threats to the United States of America. We have watched for years as other countries have struggled with terrorism. Now we find ourselves at “Ground Zero” for the first time, and, hopefully, we will all learn from it.

There is a very big difference that exists between active learning and passive learning. Passive learning is likened to knowledge learned from texts and discussion. Passive learning gives the student concepts that can be “understood”, but this kind of understanding is limited to understanding the texts and research that is presented to a student. Active learning takes place when the student goes out and actively applies the concepts learned from texts and classroom discussion to his or her daily life. My semester in Washington D.C. allowed me to take passive learning and turn it into active learning. Not only did I learn about foreign trade, I actively helped companies export as part of my internship with the Trade Information Center in the Department of Commerce. This is just one of the examples of active learning that I participated in while I stayed in Washington D.C. I also participated in a Walk-a-thon to help the homeless, tutored students studying English as a second language, helped prepare an article for publication at work, learned to effectively handle an office situation, and earned a higher degree of self-confidence. Though my experiences at Valparaiso University helped prepare me for the experience I had in Washington D.C., the level of learning I achieved in three months while staying in our nation’s capital far exceeds any amount of learning I received at the classroom level. I now know what it is like to live in a city and work in an office. Life outside of college is a completely different experience and I have luckily already received a taste of what it is like.

Postscript – The Events of September 11th

It is important to note what can be learned from the attack on September 11th and the Anthrax aftermath. Nestled amongst the cornfields, does the typical Valparaiso University student understand the implications to American foreign policy since September 11th? Will he or she understand what this war is truly about? After all, is this really one man’s jihad against the evil Western civilization? Is this war about a clash of cultures? Why does a man like Osama Bin Laden capture the hearts and minds of Indonesian Muslims as well as Palestinians and the John Walkers of the world? Perhaps it is important to take a look at the world we live in and understand that our country and the rest of the Western world have left many disenfranchised. When there is no leadership and when people feel as if they are not represented a demagogue such as Osama Bin Laden arises and gives the disenfranchised an icon.

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