Cisneros Shenanigans


July 8, 2024

Students eating a meal

Written by: Alejandro Rodriguez, Caminos al Futuro 2024

Our Saturday started with a delayed wake-up after the intense week. We slowly trickled from our rooms down to the basement to watch the Formula 1 qualifiers at 10am. To be honest, I was more interested the Washington Nationals baseball game we planned for the afternoon.

After a quick post-race lunch break, we took the Metro to the stadium. By the time we arrived, my shirt was drenched with sweat, which got worse with the metal seats baking in the sun. The weather app claimed the heat felt like 102 degrees, but once it began to feel like 120, we headed to the other side of the stadium to hide in the shade. There, we lasted until the 7th inning and then left once it was quite clear that the Nationals would only lose if half their team passed out from the heat. We ended our day with a dinner, celebrating Colombia’s victory over Panama in Copa America.

Our Sunday was brightened by Lewis Hamilton’s long-awaited and emotional win at Silverstone. Some of us went to the Eastern Market. Later that evening, our dinner plans involved some communication complications, but we were able to make it to a boba tea shop for dessert and without ruining our appetite for a second dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant. Though we had an early dinner at Western Market beforehand, some light tapas seemed like a good way to expand our culinary tastes. The octopus was excellent (I think I was the only one impressed). During our trip, we also toured Georgetown University and did some shopping nearby.

Today, we had a moot court with Paulina Vera, an immigration attorney and GW Professorial Lecturer in Law, who introduced us to the challenges that immigrants face when coming to the United States. We also had a workshop on effective use of AI, led by PBS Qualitative Research Director André Sanabia Johnston. After another Changing the Narrative workshop with Cisneros Associate Director Trey Johnston, we ended off the day with mock interviews with admissions.

Alejandro Rodriguez is a 2024 Caminos al Future Scholar. Alejandro’s views are his own and not necessarily reflective of the Cisneros Institute.