Photo essay: An inside look at life as a Georgetown student in the CALL

Growing up in his native Zimbabwe and attending high school in Armenia, Nyasha Gandawa (B’23) has always been attracted to a global education. With dreams of becoming an economist at the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, studying at Georgetown and living in Washington, DC, was a no-brainer for Gandawa. “The location of Georgetown being in Washington, DC, brought about a really great opportunity for me,” Gandawa said. “I was interested in being a part of a historical narrative.”

After spending his first three years on the Hilltop, Gandawa took advantage of an opportunity to live even closer to the epicenter of national policymaking for his final two semesters.

Gandawa is part of the Capitol Applied Learning Labs (CALL) at Georgetown, in which undergraduates spend a semester living and taking classes in downtown Washington, DC. As part of the program, CALL students also undertake professional experiences—from internships to research programs and entrepreneurial ventures—to help them pursue and discover their own professional interests.

Gandawa enjoyed his fall semester in the CALL so much he decided to spend his last semester at Georgetown there, too.

Follow Gandawa through the streets of downtown DC as a student in the CALL program here.

Increasing access to experiential learning

Launched in 2019, the CALL model is a natural outgrowth of Georgetown’s commitment to access, affordability, and educational innovation. Recognizing that unpaid summer internships can be financially out of reach for some students, the CALL makes it possible for students to gain real-world experience while still earning course credits. Students can apply existing financial aid to their CALL semester and engage with the D.C. community as an integral part of their academic experience. Learn more on the CALL website.

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