Leaning toward a desk microphone in the United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship’s meeting space, Politics and Law major Zoe Thorp ’29 addresses her 12 fellow Bryant University ‘senators’ as they hold a mock hearing debating an education infrastructure bill that would supply learning technologies to K—5 students.
Surrounded by marble pilasters and beneath an elegant chandelier, undergrads participating in the Explore DC trip occupy the seats that senators like Adam Schiff, Maria Cantwell, and Tim Scott would normally use and find themselves raising the level of their arguments to meet their setting.
“That is an opportunity almost no one gets,” notes Bryant’s Assistant Professor of Political Science Tristan Hightower, Ph.D., sharing that the committee’s deputy staff director, Bryant alum Samantha Scoca ’18, made this opportunity possible.
While the ‘senators’ attempt to pass a law and senior staff walk them through what a bill markup looks like, undergrads gain insight into what it’s like to be in an elected official’s shoes.
“You’re never going to end up with the perfect law, but you want to try to get as close as possible to one that meets the needs of everyone,” reflects International Business major Emely Del Rosario ’27.
Behind-the-scenes access
The visit is just one of the many experiential learning opportunities made possible through the university’s Explore D.C. trip, an annual initiative sponsored by Bryant’s Amica Center for Career Education and the College of Arts and Sciences’ Politics, Law, and Society department.
From seeing the United States Capitol and meeting U.S. Senator Jack Reed ’10H to touring monuments and museums, the six-day trip provided valuable opportunities that set undergrads up for success. These experiences, Hightower explains, collapse the distance between what is studied in the classroom and the real world that students are about to enter.
“Sometimes, ideas can feel abstract. It is one thing to understand the textbook definition of how Congress operates, but it is an entirely different thing to walk the halls of the Capitol,” he states. “I think it allows students to see themselves working in these spaces and making a difference in the world.”
Visiting the Museum of the American Indian introduced students to internship and fellowship opportunities offered through the Smithsonian Institution and included a sneak peek at upcoming exhibits. It was just one of several museums they visited, including the National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum of Natural History, and National Gallery of Art.
“I'm taking a history class right now, and one of the museum’s we went to had an exhibit on what I was learning in the class, so I took pictures and sent them to my professor,” notes Thorp. “It made me more engaged in the material that I'm learning here.”
A tour of the United States Secret Service (USSS) Headquarters included the service’s global investigative operations center, forensic services division, and USSS HQ Museum. The space was filled with history — from a historic flag that firefighters raised over Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, to preserved Rhode Island colonial currency dating back to 1786.
Undergrads were also invited into a room with a digital 3D model of New York City’s United Nations that Secret Service members use to train and learned how composite artists create visual representations of suspects based on eyewitness descriptions.
Additionally, they visited the Toyota Government Affairs Office, where they chatted with Director of Dealer Policy John Stolz and learned how the office handles the company’s federal government relations and advocacy efforts. Earlier in the trip, the group had spoken with Mateo Pierce-Mosquera, a lobbyist for the United States Hispanic Business Council.
Team and Project Management major Braden Crough ’26, who came on the trip considering a career in policy work, found that the conversations and tours he took part in opened new possibilities.
“Working on the Hill seems fun,” he says. “I think I would enjoy doing committee work.”
Never enough connections
Washington D.C.’s National Union Building offered a comfortable space for undergrads and Bryant alumni to get to know one another during the trip’s annual networking event. Handshakes, smiles, and business cards were exchanged as former Bulldogs talked about their career paths and how to stand out in today's job market.
“It definitely impacted the way I'm going about pursuing jobs,” notes Crough.
Del Rosario, who will be interning at D.C.’s World Bank Treasury this summer, shares that it’s helpful to hear an unvarnished, firsthand account of what life beyond college is like, nodding to one alum who spoke about a time when she had been laid off — and how she moved on.
“I feel like not everyone is willing to tell you that part and, if they do, they focus more on the professional aspect of it, but she also told us how she managed it emotionally,” Del Rosario reflects.
Students found a range of mentors across the Explore D.C. experience, including Chris Marin ’19, Program Director for the Washington Council of Lawyers — a voluntary bar association that promotes pro bono and public-interest law — and Clyde Restaurant Group President and CEO John McDonnell, brother of recently retired Bryant Professor of Sociology Judy McDonnell, Ph.D., who provided advice on management, the restaurant business, and work-life balance.
They also formed strong connections with one another.
“What I enjoy most about our Explore trips is watching students who barely knew each other grow into friends,” says Patricia Miernicki, associate director of employer outreach and development within the Amica Center, who planned the trip. “It is truly amazing to watch them engage with each other and with our speakers and lead such thoughtful, insightful discussions.”