Trip to London

Travel Study to London (December 12-20, 2009)
Cecilia G. Manrique, Professor and Chair, Political Science/Public Administration Department together with student UW-La Crosse Emily Back joined a group of Winona State University students and faculty in a Travel Study Trip to London from Saturday, December 12 to Sunday December 20.
Included in this blog are highlights of the trip and a few (from among the many) photos from the trip.
Highlights included:
1. Each day started at 8:00 a.m. and did not end until about 11:00 p.m.
2. The help of a number of people in England allowed us to give the students a variety of experiences that would probably be difficult to replicate.
3. A British Lord (Lord Freeman) who currently serves in the House of Lords but who also served as a Member of Parliament and as a minister in the John Major government hosted us and gave us a private tour of the British Parliament (Big Ben). He also arranged for high level business briefings and visits for us including an electronic battlefield simulation in the offices of Europe’s leading defense contractor (Thales Corporation).
4. Because we were able to arrange for deep discounts, we were able to afford not just one but three West End musical productions. For The Lion King and for Blood Brothers, the students were actually sitting just 3 rows from the stage. (As an aside, I don’t think any of us thought that we would ever give a four curtain-call, standing ovation to a former Spice Girl, but we did. She was that good!)
5. Private lectures by high-powered individuals at investment banks, the Bank of England, and multinational corporations. The students attended 6 separate high-level business lectures.
6. Hearty meals at several English pubs which we all enjoyed with very little or no alcohol consumption. We hoped this belies the notions that English pubs are only for drinking and that our students cannot control their drinking.
Some photos:


Cecilia Manrique, Lord Freeman and Emily Back


After watching The Lion King
Front: Gabriel Manrique, Britanny Stevens, Emily Thoen, Perrin Gustafson, Cecilia Manrique
Back: Alex Roverud, Dan Ruekert, Kristen Woellert, Emily Back, Ashley Spires, Ryan Gardner and Tyler Hiestand


In the London Eye
Front: Cecilia Manrique, Dan Ruekert, Ryan Gardner, Gabriel Manrique
Middle: Kristen Woellert, Perrin Gustafson, Emily Thoen, Tyler Hiestand and Alex Roverud
Back: Britanny Stevens, Emily Back, Ashley Spires


Emily Back and Cecilia Manrique at Stonehenge


Cecilia and Emil in front of protestors at Trafalgar Square: