On the cold morning of April 6, 25 Cabrini students loaded onto a bus headed to New York City. It was a trip helmed by SEaL, The Center for Student Engagement and Leadership, which provided free transportation to New York City with an option for free tickets to the musical “SIX.”
Senior Belinda Hedden helped coordinate the trip and said she had three goals: for all students to have a fun time, for all students to make it back on the bus for departure,and for the bus to leave on time.
The bus made its way through the Lincoln Tunnel into Times Square, where students were dropped off to start their Big Apple adventures.
Planning the trip
Hedden said, “When we looked at this year and our calendar, we definitely wanted to have two trips to New York.” The trips were always popular and this time around SEaL wanted to include the option of a show. “We know that this year looks a little different at Cabrini so we wanted to maximize as many activities as we could have. This trip is one of those opportunities we give to the students.”
Hedden believes that the students who took this opportunity to come to New York for the day, and to possibly watch a musical too, all for free, will have enhanced their student experience in this “very odd year.”
“I think any time you get off campus is special, especially if you don’t have a car, just being able to leave campus and kind of having a different perspective of the world outside of school is always nice. So, having this break at the end of the week or at the end of your school year is a nice way to refresh moving towards finals,” said Hedden.
Exploring the Big Apple
Cabrini students eagerly got off the bus in Times Square. As they formed small clusters ready to venture out into the city, Hedden told them when and where they needed to be if they wanted to watch the musical, and when and where they had to be for the departing bus. And that was it. The day belonged to the Cavs.
One group attended Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral which stands at a towering 332 feet tall. They then hit up shopping centers like the famous Nintendo store. For lunch, Freshmen April Coston and Naydelyn Villanueva chose Los Tacos No.1.
Coston said she was happy to witness the first signs of spring throughout the city. Villanueva said she’s happy to be making memories in the small amount of time she has left at Cabrini before its closure. After Los Tacos the group was off to Koreatown and back to Times Square at sundown.
The group was one of many making their marks throughout the city. Some even took the subway to reach bucket list locations. Others shopped the day away not too far from where they were dropped off.
Freshman Brielle Sherman went to Madison Square Garden because, “Olivia Rodrigo was in town, so I got some merch.” She went shopping at places like Hill House, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Tiffany’s, the shopping centers that she says make up “classic New York.”
Sherman was one of the many who attended the musical “SIX.” A Broadway musical about the six wives of King Henry VIII, it also had a hip-hop twist. “The play was fun,” said Sherman. It was a musical she said she wouldn’t have watched in other circumstances, but because it was free she gave it a shot and was pleasantly surprised.
Sherman said her favorite part of the trip was having the chance to dine in at the “pricey” Ralph’s Coffee with her friends.
The road back
As the nightlife in New York grew rambunctious, the day trip was coming to an end. Exhausted students reconvened at the pickup spot for departure. Shortly after, and right on time, the bus came as students slumped in. When making their way through the Lincoln Tunnel for a second time that day, a portion didn’t make it out at the other end awake. The bus returned to Cabrini around midnight and all three of Hedden’s goals were met, and maybe even surpassed.
