Two weeks into the St. Albans School of Public Service, the group has read case studies, had Q&A sessions with speakers ranging from a current Congressional candidate to the U.S. Global coordinator on AIDS, and started to explore the Washington area with off-campus trips. Two of the highlighted trips occurred this past week, when, during a 16-hour span, the St. Albans School of Public Service class of 2016 visited Capitol Hill for a private tour of the Senate (including the Foreign Relations Room, the Old Senate Chamber, and the Senate Floor) and then visited the Supreme Court the next morning for private Q&A sessions with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and the Clerk of the Court, Mr. Scott Harris Esq.
At the Capitol, our host was former Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut. Senator Dodd not only showed us through the Senate side of the Capitol but, at each stop, spoke about the functions and history of the Senate tied to each location. The favorite stopping point on the spectacular tour was the floor of the Senate, where SPS 2016 was fascinated to see the desks of current and former Senators such as President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Senator Sanders, and even see the signatures inside the desk drawers in some cases.
At the Supreme Court, after enjoying the historical exhibits on the ground floor of the Court, our group had the opportunity for a Q&A session with a sitting Justice, the Honorable Elena Kagan, and then learned more about the inner procedural workings of how a Supreme Court case is heard from the Clerk of the Court, Mr. Scott Harris. We ended the visit with a private tour of the awe-inspiring Courtroom where the arguments take place.
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| Outside the Senate Foreign Relations Room |
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| Waiting to enter the Senate Foreign Relations Room |
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| With our host, former Senator Chris Dodd, in the Old Senate Chamber (scene of famous debates such as over the Compromise of 1850) |
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| SPS Super-Intern Judd L. at the lectern on the Senate Floor |
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| Jalen on the Senate floor -- possible vision of the future! |
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| Former Senator Dodd shows our group his old Senate Desk with his signature in the drawer, below that of his father, also a U.S. Senator |
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| Jesus R. and Senator Dodd during our visit to Capitol Hill |
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| The dome at night |
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| SPS 2016 outside the U.S. Supreme Court |
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| SPS 2016 in the West Conference Room of the Supreme Court |
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| Waiting to meet with Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan at the Supreme Court |
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| SPS 2016 with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan |
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| Jesus and Zaki, looking like they own the place! |
