By MILO SMEDLEY
Opinions Editor
Hopping into a van full of strangers that attend Saint Rose sounded fun to me, so I decided to go on the spring break trip to Washington D.C. I also enjoy volunteering too, but hey, my break was free. Jokes aside, this trip was one of the best things I’ve ever done.
So, all 20 of us piled into multiple vans and took a six hour drive. Also worth noting: all the vans had silly names. We had the Pearl Leader, the off-white van that usually was in the lead, Black Stallion, the most fun van in my opinion, and Gray Goose, the last van that somehow ended up in Philadelphia on our way to Maryland. Six hours in a van sounds boring, but the chaos of the group as a whole made it much more enjoyable. There were a few people I recognized from campus, but in general I was not close with anyone.
We left right after a snowstorm, which further made the travel day interesting. My van in particular was very energetic, and we bonded over kids games on the TVs in the van. The game in question can best be explained as one similar to hangman, but legally different, with stupidly long words. As a group, we tried to figure out the words, and in some cases, slept all the way to D.C.
The first day in D.C., we visited museums and got to know each other more. All of us also walked at least five miles that first day. We also had dinner at a D.C. staple that even I, a Maryland, D.C. and Virginia-native loved. (p.s. If you ever hear me say DMV, that is what I mean). Ben’s Chili Bowl is a standout restaurant that features many amazing foods, in addition to an equally amazing history. The restaurant was created in 1958, and has some rich historical moments, including donating food to the historic March on Washington, being one of few restaurants that survived the D.C. riots of 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King, and host to President Barack Obama. We had the pleasure of learning about this history and the numerous famous people that have walked through the restaurant’s doors, all while enjoying the world famous Half Smoke, which, drumroll please, is an adult’s chili dog. Ben’s is proudly Black-owned, and had even been present in a small business ad by Google back in 2021.
However, there was more to this trip than sightseeing and great food. Our main purpose was volunteering, and even pushing for legislation.
We spent the next several days listening to individuals who have experienced and survived homelessness, and helping individuals who were on the street. We also learned about the different laws that would help aid houseless individuals, even people before they were considered homeless. We would then use a mix of our own experiences and those that we had heard to speak to our senators to discuss the laws. Volunteers broke up into smaller groups that night to begin preparing for these discussions. We all shared stories and listened to each other, which moved many of us to tears. Even the congresspeople we met were moved by what we shared.
We also spent a day and a half volunteering. Each group of students had gone to a location and rotated throughout the day. I was stuck at the same place the entire time, but I was not complaining. For the first half of the day, we helped make meal bags and hot food. We made taco baked potatoes, which actually looks better than it sounds. We also ran Maycroft Market, which was a pantry where we helped put together bags of fruits and vegetables to pass out to people who needed them. This was my second favorite part of the trip.
My personal favorite was McKenna’s Wagon. In the evenings, we boarded the van, packed the food and supplies that we needed, and headed out to various locations. Our driver, Lori, was one of the nicest people I have ever met. She had worked with McKenna’s Wagon for 20 years and loved it more each trip. She also helped us set up and pass out food at each stop. While we drove around, she would share interesting bits of information about the area and her thoughts on D.C. as a whole. While discussing volunteering she said, “It’s impossible to meet an a**hole volunteering.” While reflecting upon my return from break, I realized her words accurately represented the trip and our experience as a whole.
The group of people that assembled to help out a community and our own Albany area were honestly some of the best people I have ever met. I would like to end this with my favorite memory overall from the trip. Many nights we would all sit and eat dinner together, passing around bowls, cooking, and even cleaning together. By the end of the week, the group of Saint Rose volunteers felt more like a family that everyone had their own role in. For a group of former strangers, I feel I really found a family along the journey.
It really is impossible to meet an a**hole volunteering.
