This spring, over 50 team members traveled to Vermont, New Orleans, Boston, and Virginia as part of CitySquash’s annual Spring Enrichment Tours! They spent their trips hiking the mountains in Vermont, holding alligators in New Orleans, touring all of Boston, and visiting the home of Thomas Jefferson in Virginia. Our team members enjoyed exploring many new places and going on new adventures with memories that will last them forever. In total, CitySquash team members have now traveled to 13 countries and 31 states. Thank you to all who make these trips possible.
Please see student reflections detailing their unforgettable experiences below!
Elementary School Trip to Vermont:
“The fifth grade went to the Ben and Jerry’s factory in Vermont. We got a really nice person to show us around. We saw the big tubes where they put the ice cream. Fun fact: the workers that try the ice cream eat about 1 whole tub of ice cream a day. We got to taste samples of the cookies and milk flavor. Finally, when that was over Micah and Al were so sweet and let us choose our own ice cream.”
-Ashley, 5th Grade
Middle School Trip to New Orleans:
“We spent a lot of time on the road and we heard the country song ‘On the Road Again’ so many times on the trip. One day we were on the road for 19 hrs. But we took breaks and we eventually made it to Tennessee where I built a tent for the first time. From there we traveled to many different states and learned about them all. We went lots of cool places, met lots of new people and tried lots of new food, like oysters. It was fun to watch everyone’s reactions as they tried them. We had such a great time; we laughed a lot, got to know each other much better, and experienced so many new things.”
-Celeste, 7th Grade
High School Trip to Boston:
“As I reflect on the spring tour to Boston, I can’t believe how much I did in a short three days. Our first stop at the New Balance headquarters was amazing. I learned so much from how a shoe is designed, to how the company decides which shoes are released. The employees there were so nice and it was very generous of them to give us all a pair of sneakers. Our next stop on our whirlwind tour was Harvard University, where we meet our host Mr. Columbia. He made sure we had every opportunity to see and do as much as we could in Boston. We went on a duck boat tour, saw a Matisse exhibit, and went on a private tour of Fenway Park where I saw my first Red Sox game. We saw Beauty and the Beast in 3D, which is one of my absolute favorite memories of the trip. We took a water taxi ride and went to the aquarium where we got to touch stingrays. We also had very delicious meals. My favorite meal was breakfast at the Harvard Club. I’m still dreaming about those Nutella pancakes. Another unforgettable experience was going to MIT and meeting the former number one player Thierry Lincou. He told us about his way to the top and gave us great advice on how to be the best squash player. There is so much history in Boston and I felt like I really got to know the city well, and I can’t wait to return. I really appreciate CitySquash and Mr. Columbia for these opportunities.”
-Tita, 9th Grade
CitySquash Brooklyn Trip to Charlottesville:
“My favorite part of the Spring Tour trip was learning about Thomas Jefferson when we visited Monticello, the house that he designed and lived in. Our tour did a good job of teaching us about the slavery there and I learned that Thomas Jefferson had children with a slave named Sally Hemings. Even though it’s a hard subject to talk about, it is important to remember all the good and bad parts of our founding fathers. As my coach said, ‘slavery happened and we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it.’ That really stuck with me and this trip gave me a new perspective on this topic.”
-Judah, 5th Grade
