A
group of Batten Fellows will return from Washington, D.C., today, where
they have been participating in the “Batten Fellows Leadership
Institute” since January 7. The 14 first-year Batten Honors College
students stayed in the historic Foggy Bottom neighborhood of D.C. and
attended the Continuity and Change in American Leadership
program offered by the Osgood Center for International Studies. Dr.
Joyce Easter, Dean of the Batten Honors College, and Dr. Kathy Merlock
Jackson, Professor of Communication, joined the students in their
travels.
This special program was tailored to the interests of
our Batten Fellows and provided them a unique opportunity to learn from
informed speakers about the American political process, attend
significant Washington events and ceremonies, and visit diverse agencies
and locations. The Osgood Center worked with Batten Honors College
faculty to cover a wide variety of areas and diversity in the
programming, with experts in fields of politics, media and
communications, science and health, national security, international
affairs and development, education, business, law, women's issues, and
more.
In partnership with the prestigious White House Fellows
Association and Foundation, students heard from a panel of former White
House Fellows whose experiences were particularly relevant to their studies. In
addition, The George Washington University Graduate School of Political
Management, in cooperation with Women in Government Affairs, organized a
panel of lobbyists who discussed a variety of public-policy topics.
Throughout
their trip, Batten Fellows visited the U.S. Capitol, the Library of
Congress, the Supreme Court Building, Environmental Defense Fund,
American Chemical Society, and the Kennedy Center, and they had
opportunities to visit monuments and memorials on the National Mall, and
national museums including the Newseum and the National Holocaust
Memorial Museum. The group spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day
participating in the MLK Day of Service and Leadership activities at The
George Washington University.
Very special thanks to Dr. Easter
and Dr. Merlock Jackson for their leadership and guidance of
participating Batten Fellows Audrey Bally, Marie Bazile, Allaina Boggs,
Shannon Bradley, Hunter Draut, Mallory Langford, Alexander Leonard,
Skylar Mao, Max Peters, Alex Powers, Asha Richards, Brianna Sandy,
Jennifer Vega, and Jenna Whitener.
We look forward to hosting our
next Batten Honors College Competition events February 8-10 and
February 15-17. Please join me in offering these potential students and
their families a warm Marlin welcome.
