Tri-Village Explores DC

This past weekend, over 50 students from the West Campus Villages traveled to the nation’s capital for the second annual Tri-Village experiential trip. Students from EcoVillage, the Scholars Village and the Women in Science and Engineering Villages filled the Sullivan Hall lobby at 5:30am Saturday morning to join the hundreds of thousands of people in DC for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, as well as to explore the multitude of museums on the mall, including the Smithsonian, the National Museum of Natural History, the Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art and so many more!

The students joined in groups of four to enjoy culture, art, science, and history for the day while also enjoying a grand parade of activities planned for the celebration of the Cherry Blossoms along the tidal basin. Following a full afternoon of museums, the students headed to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to enjoy a performance by The Blues Alley Youth Orchestra. The students enjoyed dinner at the Kennedy Center after the performance and also had the opportunity to take advantage of an evening on the outside terrace which has beautiful panoramic views of the DC skyline overlooking the Potomac River. A very full day ended with a night tour of the historic monuments and memorials  including the Jefferson, Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, and the Vietnam and Korean memorials.

The Tri-Village Council includes leadership from all three West Campus Villages and University Housing and meets monthly to collaborate and build opportunities for programming cross-connective experiences for students in our West Villages. The Tri-Village council focuses on ensuring all students have opportunities to learn and develop social connections across the three villages. We have found that while each individual village has distinct focuses, the shared experience of interactions among students across the villages provides a unique and valuable opportunity to their residential experience.