For 20 years, Frederick Community College has offered its students to spend a day at Washington D.C. and now for this fall semester, the college’s tradition has returned.
FCC In DC Day will be held Friday, Oct. 28. Students will travel via a bus and will be picked up up at FCC at 8:15 a.m.
According to Jennifer Moxley, student leadership coordinator, the trip is free but students are required to put down a $10 cash deposit. The money will be returned to them the day of trip. If they do not show up the day of the trip they will lose the deposit. This is to not only help the college determine who gets to reserve spots on the bus, but to force students that reserved spots to show up on the arrival date. It should also be noted students must sign a waiver before the trip.
Because this is the first time she will be the main coordinator for the trip, Moxley welcomes all students to attend FCC In DC Day.
One of the main appeals she highlights is how the trip gives students flexibility to explore D.C. at their own leisurely pace.
“It’s not really a structured trip,” she said. “It allows students to go see whatever they want to see. D.C. has such vibrant and rich experiences, with a lot of different things to see ranging from museums to landmarks and attractions. We’ll be dropping off students at the Museum of the American Indian and they can choose whatever they want during their day.”
The drop off location the college chose this year is within the National Mall, which is home to many of D.C.’s famous attractions such as the various Smithsonian Museums to even the Washington Monument and the White House, but students are allowed to roam wherever as long as they return to the bus drop-off at Museum of the American Indian back at 3:30 p.m.
Each year the college chooses different drop-off locations based on student feedback.
“We choose the National Mall because it’s a central location for all the attractions at D.C.” Moxley said. “Last year we had a student club reach out to us that wanted to go to the new National Museum of African American History and Culture, so that was our drop-off last year. We want pick different locations that is central to all the attractions so that our students can explore D.C. easily.”
