WASHINGTON, D.C. (Erie News Now) -- This week, local college students from Penn State Behrend were given a unique opportunity in our nation’s capital. 

The group of more than a dozen students are spending their spring break exploring careers and meeting with alumni. 

“Enlightening, for sure,” said Brooklyn White, a freshman majoring in political science. 

“It’s everything I've hoped it could be,” said Ethan Sonney, a sophomore majoring in history. 

“Wonderful and educational and a blessing for sure,” said Abby Napierski, a sophomore political science major. 

“Solidifying,” said Rachel Pineo, a junior political science major. 

While many college students spend their spring break elsewhere, these students are trading sunshine and beaches for networking and career exploration. 

“It’s a good opportunity to just look at how our laws work, how our government works, and how we're crafting public policy,” said Sonney. 

“Connections are good to have. I think that was a big theme this week whenever we would meet with people,” said White. 

“The more connections that you make, the more powerful things that you can do,” said Napierski. 

For one week, the students are given the chance to have a front row seat to careers in the public and private sectors, while learning valuable life lessons. 

“You should really be kind to everyone that you talk to and network at every opportunity because you never know who you're meeting and who you'll talk to and where they can take you and where you will go,” said Pineo. 

“I think what it does is it expands the horizons,” said Robert Speel, an associate professor of political science at Penn State Behrend. 

Speel has brough students to Washington longer than this year’s participants have been alive. 

“For over 25 years,” he said. 

Running the trip is tireless work, but the impacts of that work are priceless for Speel. 

“We meet with a lot of alumni from Penn State Behrend when we come here and many of those alumni took this class with me in the past. And that's a lot of fun for me to see past students meet with current students and kind of mentor them a little bit,” said Speel. 

Lessons learned and connections made to help students pursue their passion, one trip at a time. 

“Because the big dream is to be down here one day working in the politics scene,” said White. 

“This trip has brought me to a new level of empowerment and a new sense of confidence and self-assuredness in who I am and that this is my passion and this is what I want to do,” said Pineo.