Day 1 and 2 Leave Me Standing on the Metro :P

Well hello lovely readers of this blog, I suppose I should start this by introducing myself. My name is John Bursick and I'm a freshman, Broadcasting student.

Yesterday was just like any other travel day really: monotonous. Long bus rides, lots of sleep in awkward positions, and a Bob Evan's brunch in some truck stop town. I'm not complaining, just pointing it out haha. The hotel we're staying in is pretty nice. Four to a room can be interesting, to say the least but I'm with Zeke, Charlie, and Steve so everything's been great so far. Holiday Inn Express claims to have the best showers in the nation or something, so they have that going for them (after taking a shower this morning, I can say it was a good one, not the best I've ever had though). Last night we decided to explore the town and had some great food at a local Uno's. The majority of the group went back to the hotel, but me, Micky, Tracy, and Kaylie stayed back and went to see Gran Torino at a movie theater. I can honestly say the movie was amazing, and would definitely reccomend it to you if you haven't already seen it! So that takes care of yesterday, and now on to today...

My always loving alarm started blaring at 6:30am and we were out the door and in the shuttle to the airport by 7:30am. Well, we thought we were all there, but as it turns out, Charlie just so happend to be left behind, which complicated things a bit. From the airport we caught a bus that took us to Washington DC. The bus ride was about an hour long, and Natalie stayed behind to wait for Charlie, who was still on his way to the airport from the hotel. Once we got to DC, we went to the Newseum which, like the name implies, is a museum dedicated to all things News, be it print, radio, or television. I can honestly say, I don't see anything else we do here (apart from the Inauguration itself) topping this place, in my opinion. Being a broadcasting student, I'm a pretty big geek when it comes to stuff related to it, simply because I love it so much. So yeah, I was like a kid in a candy store when it came to the Newseum. Me and Micky Haney got to meet, and get a picture with, George Stephenopolus from ABC (woooo!), which was waaay cool, if you didn't pick up on that from my parenthesis over there. The Newseum had an archive of newspapers from every year dating back to the 1500s. This wasn't really every newspaper, but the highlights of that year, like original JFK Assasination papers, etc. There was a section of the Newseum dedicated entirely to 9/11, which was extremely emotional to see. I could go on forever about the Newseum, but like I said before, I'm pretty tired so I'll cut it short.

After we were done at the Newseum, Micky, Chelsea, Tracy, Brianna, and myself headed toward the Lincoln Memorial to see the Inaugural Day kickoff concert, where musicians like Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp played for free. There had to be over a million people there, and the atmosphere was simply amazing. At the end of the show, Obama spoke briefly about what was coming in the next few days and how he appriciated all of us coming out to the show, and coming to Washington to celebrate the new era in American politics that was about to begin. This was the second time I've seen Obama in person (the first was in Pittsburgh), and it was just a brilliant. While he did not speak for nearly as long as he did in Pittsburgh, Obama just has this presence about him. You feel different when you see him in person, when you hear his words while you realize he's not too far away from where you are. It's hard to explain, but it's almost startling in how effective it is.

In other news, the Pittsburgh Steelers are AFC Champions and headed to the Super Bowl. I cannot be happier about this, so I felt like I needed to mention in. When it comes to the NFC, Philadelphia = stunned. All I'm sayin'.

So yeah, that was pretty much the day. Other then some interesting mishaps on the way home (that I won't get into unless the other people here really want me to haha) today was an unbelievable day. I can honestly say I couldn't have asked for a better, more exciting experience then what I went through today. Knowing that I have two more days in this amazing city, and that one of them is the actual Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, is insane to me. I'm unbelievably excited to be here, and will check in with another post tomorrow night.

Until then, take care!

John Bursick

Change, it's what we need!

Hi there, my name is Kayli Valentino, and I'm a Freshman at Point Park University. In less than 3 days, I will be well on my way to Washington D.C. for the Presidential Inauguration. I have been to D.C. once before, almost 6 years ago so I am well past due. When my CF (community facilitator) told me about the trip, I was all for it. Thankfully, I was chosen to represent my floor (the silver screen) and be one of the few going to this historical event. I am so excited because I just turned 18 this past March and this was my first Presidential Election. I was able to cast my vote and the candidate I voted for won!! One day, I will be able to tell my children and eventually grandchildren not only did I vote for Obama, but I was able to go to D.C. and take part in the Inauguration festivities. I cant wait, it's going to be such a great time!!!

Inauguration!!

Hi my name is Bryanna Kiselauskas and im a freshman at Point Park University. Being a first year student at Point Park has given me so many great opportunities to fufill and never did i think that i would have an opportunity like this one! When I heard that there was a trip being put together to go down to Washington D.C. for the Inauguration i was very excited. I told my CF right away that I wanted to go. I thought why not take advantage of this amazing opportunity to go and see this event take place. This inauguration is a big deal in that its the first time a we will have a black president. I have never been to Washington D.C. so I'm so very excited to visit all the monuments and museums. This weekend is going to be a big learning experiene for me and im greatful for it!

Getting Ready for the Inauguration...as told by Jamie!

Hi Everyone-

My name is Jamie Inferrera and I am an Assistant Community Director (ACD) in the Office of Campus Life. Katelyn Koval, another ACD, will also be attending the trip to D.C. along with 12 freshman residential students and 2 other Campus Life staff members.

I am very excited about this trip to D.C. because I had the opportunity to help with the planning process. We planned a lot of fun sightseeing, such as the Newseum and various Smithsonian museums. We will also be touring the famous monuments and memorials. I wanted to make sure we could see as much as we could in our short amount of time in D.C. Of course, the highlight of the trip will be the Inauguration Parade on Tuesday.

The only aspect of the trip I am slightly concerned with is the weather. I hope it is not bitter cold or rainy. That could put a damper on things...but, we would still make the best of it. I am planning on packing lots of warm clothes and wearing tons of layers every day.

I never thought I would have the opportunity to be in D.C. for the inauguration. It is going to be crazy down there, but a great experience. Since I am interested in going into the world of politics, I could not have asked for a better opportunity to come my way.

Well, keep checking back because many other students who are attending the trip will also be blogging about their experiences!