From Kenyon’s Hill to Capitol Hill: A Quick Trip to D.C.
For my summer vacation, I chose to visit the Hill that a plethora of Kenyon students migrate to post-grad: Washington, D.C. I stayed in Arlington with a fellow DKE, Paul '18, and the week was an absolute blast. Paul and his family showed me the best hospitality, and his mother was quick to ask me about everything Kenyon and my future plans.
I felt that everywhere I turned I was greeted by Kenyon alumni or students. From the three alums from my fraternity in their beautiful downtown D.C. townhouse to the four grads living, ironically, on Kenyon Street, the city is full of Kenyon students and alumni alike pursuing varying careers in many incredible fields. Whether they are getting their master’s in Russian area studies at Georgetown, working as a congressional staffer on the Hill, or as an interior designer, the variety of careers that Kenyon grads are pursuing in D.C. is truly remarkable.
I of course saw all of the monuments and everything that a good tourist should do, but some of the best moments were just talking to all of the alumni about their post-grad lives. Seeing my good friend Maddy '15, who will be heading to Choate next year to work in admissions, or my former apprentice teacher Leslie '14, who is preparing to start her second year of grad school at Georgetown, or my fraternity brother Kei Helm '16, who was abroad this past fall and who is currently doing research at U-Va., revealed exactly how small of a world D.C. can offer. Not only are Kenyon alumni pursuing incredibly interesting careers, but the fact that they continue to live together after graduation showed me how our community never really ceases to end. So many Kenyon alumni flock to D.C. and continue the ever-so-hard-to-describe Kenyon community on an entirely separate hill. Alumni chatted with me about how Kenyon is doing now, what classes I was taking and if certain events were still happening. Monuments, museums and statues aside, seeing the extension of the Kenyon community was truly the best part of this trip.
