At 11:00 p.m. on Monday February 20th, an anxious group of seniors arrived at the Rocky Mount Academy parking lot to board the bus for New York. A school tradition for years, the senior class travels to New York for a packed and eventful final field trip at RMA. The trip is planned by Senior advisor Carolyn Patton along with Headmaster Beth Covolo, who both take suggestions from the senior class members while creating the itinerary, purchasing tickets for tours, and making travel plans.

After traveling through the night, the bus stopped at a rest stop where we changed clothes and ate breakfast to fuel up for the day. The bus arrived in the city around 8:30am and dropped us off with our bags at the Hotel Edison, where we would be staying for the next two nights. The rooms were not ready until later that evening, so our group took off walking down the streets of New York to see the Library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Central Park and Fifth Avenue. Seniors were given time to explore the area and get lunch in groups of four or more. During this free time, a group of seniors went to Trump Towers where Parker Ferebee was interviewed by a German News Channel! After lunch, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where seniors visited exhibits of Armour, Greek and Roman Art, Impressionist Art, Egyptian Art and more. After exploring the museum, groups of four hailed taxis and rode back to the hotel for a few hours of rest. Seniors got their room keys and took their luggage to their rooms on the 11th floor to check out the view for the first time. Around 6:30pm, everyone met in the lobby to board the bus for Madison Square Garden, the fourth-busiest music arena in the world in terms of ticket sales. The Garden is used for professional basketball and ice hockey, as well as boxing, concerts, ice shows, circuses, professional wrestling and other forms of sports and entertainment. The seniors had great seats to watch the New York Rangers take on the Canadiens in a hockey match-up. They enjoyed pizza, hot dogs, cotton candy and popcorn while hanging out with each other and cheering on the Rangers. A highlight of the evening was an amazing t-shirt catch by future college baseball player, Reid Johnston! We were surprised that the t-shirt cannons had enough power to reach our section, possibly the top of the arena. The game ended in a tie and went into overtime and then a shootout which the seniors were lucky to see. After the game, the bus headed back to the hotel where everyone turned in for the night.

Bright and early on Wednesday, the seniors headed to the NBC Today Show to try and make it on tv outside and then take a tour of the NBC Studios. Many students made posters to hold on tv and our family back in Rocky Mount said that they spotted us! After seeing hosts such as Matt Lauer and Al Roker, we walked over to the Ice Skating Rink at the Rockefeller Center while we waited for our tour to begin. Someone noticed a man and women skating below and then we realized that they were Olympic Gold Medalists, Meryl Davis and her partner Charlie White. They just happened to be performing for the Today Show that morning. We were able to watch them warm up and after the tour, some students even got pictures with them! When it was time for the tour, the seniors broke into three groups of about 15 and went through security. An NBC Page served as our host and behind-the-scenes expert, guiding us through the historic halls of 30 Rock. The tours were given by two pages who had what seemed to be infinite knowledge on all of the studios. We sat in the Saturday Night Live Studio, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon studio, and the Late Night with Seth Meyers studio. We learned about the entire TV production process, from the writing and producing to the ways TV content is distributed. Then we had an awesome time experiencing it all first hand as we were able to star in and produce our own show in their brand new Tour Studio. After the tour, we took the glass elevator up 70 floors to the three levels of observation decks to explore at Top of the Rock. The first deck was indoors and also included a gift shop. The second was entirely outdoors, with a glass enclosure but nevertheless enough of a view to make you realize how far you are from the ground. The third observation deck, located on the the very top floor open-air roof deck, is completely outdoors and free of a glass enclosure, making it a perfect opportunity for pictures. After reaching the ground, the seniors walked to the Winter Garden Theater to see, what was for many, their first Broadway show, “School of Rock.” Based on the hit film, this hilarious musical follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. While teaching these pint-sized prodigies what it means to truly rock, Dewey falls for the school’s beautiful, but uptight headmistress, helping her rediscover her wild child within. Up next on the itinerary, following the musical, was the highly anticipated dinner at Carmine’s, a nice Italian Restaurant in Times Square. Students shared appetizers such as calamari, mussels, garlic bread, and antipasto. For the entree, many ordered lasagna, chicken parmigiana, veal, penne alla vodka, chicken marsala and more. If that wasn’t enough food already, each table got a Titanic dessert, a massive dessert resembling the ship made out of chocolate cake, ice cream, whipped cream, hot fudge, bananas and strawberries. Everyone seemed to make room after the large dinner for this amazing dessert.

The last day of the trip, Thursday, was definitely the coldest day of the week but that did not affect the great day ahead. To kick off the day, seniors boarded the bus to travel to the 911 Memorial and Museum. The Memorial is made up of two fountain pools located in the exact location of the two fallen towers, honoring the lives of those who were lost. The memorial occupies eight of the 16 acres at the World Trade Center and serves as a tribute to the past and a place of hope for the future.The names of every person who died in the terrorist attacks of February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001 are inscribed in bronze around the twin memorial pools. The Seniors were given time to walk around both pools and look at the names and the wide variety of people who were affected by this event. Entering and exploring the museum was a very sobering and informative experience for all of the students. Following the museum, the bus traveled to the Chelsea Market, a food hall, shopping mall, office building and television production facility located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. An example of some of the senior lunches include Japanese Mexican Fusion tacos, Crepes, Thai food, Sushi along with donuts, macarons and ice cream for something sweet. After lunch, the bus made a stop at Battery Park for students to see the Statue of Liberty across the river. For some, it was their first time seeing this famous New York monument. Many seniors, especially the girls, were looking forward to the next item on the itinerary, Chinatown. Chinatown is known for its authentic Chinese markets and not so authentic high end shopping. Many girls were on a search for sunglasses, purses and watches and had fun bargaining for these items. After making our way back to the hotel by taxi or subway, we were off to our second and final Broadway show, “A Bronx Tale”. This musical is best described as a combination of West Side Story and Jersey Boys and was very different than “School of Rock”, which we saw earlier in our trip. Based on the critically acclaimed play that inspired the now classic film, this streetwise musical takes you to the stoops of the Bronx in the 1960s—where a young man is caught between the father he loves and the mob boss he’d love to be. After the show, we had the unique opportunity to meet and talk with some of the cast because of a connection with one of the actresses. North Carolina Native, Ariana Debose, plays Jane in “A Bronx Tale” and is fresh off of her run as a cast member of “Hamilton: An American Musical”. Our class enjoyed getting to know the cast as well as asking them questions about the show and even about their lives before Broadway.

On behalf of all members of the senior class, I want to thank all who helped plan, fundraise, and chaperone the senior trip to New York. Every one of us had such an amazing and memorable last RMA field trip and I already want to go back!