The New York City Study Tour was by far the best class any of us have taken. Not only did we have the opportunity to visit a marketing agency, tour a finance museum and explore all of New York City, we also got three credits for taking this class. It was totally worth it. Everyday we had to write in our journal about our experiences, thoughts and questions that our professors gave us. We would recommend this class to any student majoring or minoring in marketing or accounting. If you are interested in taking this class, talk to the College of Business and see if you are eligible!
Day 1: We finally arrived in New York City! Since it was New Years Day it took us awhile to get checked into our hotel room. Our group split up and we spent the afternoon exploring Times Square.
Day 2: It rained all day that day and it was freezing, but our adventures for the day made it worth the horrible weather. We started the day with a downtown Bus Tour, then we made our way to the Statue of Liberty. We had an hour to spend at the island exploring, and it was beautiful. After that we got on the ferry and went to Ellis Island, which was incredible. We had two hours to explore all of Ellis island and we easily could have spent a few more hours there. It was so cool to see and read about how everyone entered the United States and where everyone traveled to and from. Later that night we went to the Wax Museum, which blew our minds. It’s crazy how they can make wax look like real people!
Day 3: We began our day with an Uptown Manhattan bus tour. Our group split up when we made it half-way through the tour. One half stayed on the bus and the other half got off at the Museum of Natural History. This is where the movie “Night at the Museum” was filmed! We explored inside the museum for about an hour, jumped on the subway and got off at Grand Central Station. Once we arrived at Grand Central we were able to spend the night as we pleased. Majority of us, once inside the station grabbed food and enjoyed the beautiful architecture. Later that night, a group of us ventured off to the Rockefeller Plaza. Since it was January, we were able to see the famous Christmas tree lit up and watch people skating around the rink. We wanted to skate, however the line was to long and there was too much to see! We were then able to go up 70 floors and view of the top of the city lit up at night. We also got to go to a Rangers game!
Day 4: We started our day at the 9/11 Memorial. The memorial was very compelling, it went step by step from when the buildings were created to after the attacks and had artifacts from both buildings. One room that really caught my attention was created for the victims, it had a picture and biography for each victim that died. Inside that room they played a video of loved ones describing the person they lost. My favorite room was an explanation of what exactly happened that day, broken down minute-by-minute. I think everyone was touched by the memorial because it was silent. Next, we went to One World Observatory. One World was created on ground zero to symbolize the future, because the 9/11 Memorial did a great job in representing the past. One World provides a fantastic view of NYC from a different angle than the Empire State Building. After we left One World we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There were a ton of beautiful art displays to look at, including a few from Picasso.
Day 5: We woke up and got our business clothes on to visit Harrison and Star. When we arrived there we all sat in a conference room and learned about what they do. They answered all of our questions and gave us tips on all things business. After our meeting, they gave us breakfast and sent us on our way. We sprinted to the Federal Reserve because they are very strict on their tour times. Thankfully, we made it! We learned about America’s cash and the money the reserve holds, we even got to see their gold bars. After the Federal Reserve we went on a Wall Street walking tour. Our guide was an older New York man and his wife. He knew all the history behind Wall Street and filled us in on a bunch of interesting facts. Later that night, we got dressed up again and went down to the Gershwin Theater to see Wicked, the story between the good witch and the wicked witch of the west in the Wizard of Oz. It was a fantastic Broadway play!
Day 6: Today we got a FREE day! We had the opportunity to explore New York City on our own and see things we wanted to see that weren’t included in our trip. A group of eight of us woke up extra early and went to the TODAY Show. It was cold standing outside for three and a half hours, but it was totally worth it. It was exciting to be on national television and have our friends and family watching us from home. After the TODAY show ended, we walked to the Radio City Music Hall and toured it, we even got to meet a Rockette! After our tour we went to Little Italy for lunch (YUM), we explored China Town and then did some shopping in SoHo. Later that evening, we went out to celebrate one of our group member’s birthdays, which was a lot of fun in such a big city!
Day 7: We ended our trip on a beautiful, snowy New York morning and headed back to Minnesota on the only plane that wasn’t cancelled going from Newark to Minneapolis. They de-iced the plane and we were homeward bound. The New York Study Tour was definitely a trip that all of us will remember for the rest of our lives.