Hey beauties, it’s Nicolette and Cynthia, writers for Her Campus’ Pace University’s Chapter! We recently had the opportunity to attend a leadership excursion with the Student Development and Campus Activities Organization at our university, to learn more about civic engagement at the Nation’s Capital. Needless to say, our trip was full of laughs, great food, leadership skills, and amazing inspiration!
On this leadership excursion, we visited coffee shops, learned how to use the D.C. Metro, and even rode the famous city bikes. But what truly stood out to us was being able to visit the museums, which inspired us through quotes and images within each building – so much so that it felt like nothing could stop us from making a change in the world. We also saw horrible injustices, which ignited a feeling within us to make a change on the internationality of the nation! That’s why being in the capital, where great leaders have changed our country forever, provided un-matched inspiration.
Among many of the things that stood out to us, one specific quote from the Holocaust Museum tremendously impacted us, (because of the familiarity the nation has with discrimination), was “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the unionists and I did not speak out- because I was not a unionist. Then they came for the Jews-and I was not a Jew so I did not speak out, then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.” (Martin Niemoller) This quote spoke to us as students because it clearly proclaimed that we cannot stand around and let injustice occur because someone else continues to encourage it – especially when we have the choice to make our voice heard for those who cannot speak for themselves. Separated into groups, we began our journey throughout Washington D.C., admiring things here and there, to finally discussing our passion for social change and how we could bring back and implement what we learned, to the Pace community.