How I Discovered DC and Community Beyond the Hilltop at the Capitol Campus

This story is a part of the Student Life Blog, a blog written by Georgetown students about their experiences and life at Georgetown.

Aaron Magtoto (SFS'27) is a junior studying Science, Technology, and International Affairs. He is from La Cañada Flintridge, CA, and is interested in pursuing environmental and energy policy.

Joining CALL for the Fall 2025 semester originated from a personal desire to experience DC from a different perspective. Living in DC was a major reason I chose Georgetown, and fully engaging with the city has always been one of my main goals for my time in college. And although I thoroughly enjoy my time on the Hilltop Campus, it sometimes feels difficult to be truly immersed in DC. I'd spent nearly two years building friendships and getting involved on campus, but I realized my understanding of DC itself remained surprisingly limited.

Taking a semester on the Capitol Campus with CALL felt like a great opportunity to be more intentional with how I engaged with DC while exploring my interests in the first cohort of the Environmental Science Policy Fellowship program.

Celebrating Homecoming with Capitol Campus friends.

Finding Community Through Shared Interest

Heading into my semester on the Capitol Campus, I was admittedly nervous about feeling siloed from my Hilltop communities and unsure of how easily I would find new ones downtown. Outside of my roommates, I truly did not know what my social circles for the semester would look like. However, the Environmental Science Policy Fellowship cohort allowed me to meet other students who shared similar academic interests. We were all figuring out the program together in classes where we discussed challenges, trends and developments in federal science policy. Having the Capitol building visible through our classroom window reinforced the real-world stakes of our conversations and reminded us of the importance of the policies we studied.

Through one of these courses, I had the opportunity to advocate for bipartisan support for the Extreme Heat Caucus and the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act by directly engaging with congressional offices. Walking directly from our 55H apartment to Capitol Hill reoriented my perspective on how accessible real policy impact can and should feel, even as students.

Our Georgetown Capitol Campus community member team after a DC Fray Ultimate Frisbee game on the National Mall.

Finding a Social Circle Outside of the Classroom

My community downtown also included newfound friends from the first undergraduate public policy cohortliving at 55H, and those relationships have become some of my most cherished from Georgetown.

Though we were in separate programs, we'd all made the same deliberate choice to experience Georgetown and DC differently. Living downtown meant we became each other's primary social circle, creating our own community away from the Hilltop. We put together potlucks, explored unfamiliar parts of the city and bonded over our shared experience of navigating life on the Capitol Campus. As students on the Capitol Campus, we also participated in a weekly ultimate frisbee league organized by DC Fray, playing together on a Georgetown team, which was a fantastic way to meet other members of the Capitol Campus community.

Even more everyday routines, whether it was walking to class or to study, stopping at the nearby Safeway, or taking bikes or the GUTS bus back from the Hilltop together, felt very meaningful upon later reflection. It became incredibly comforting to consistently be around others who understood what this chapter felt like because they were also making the same adjustments to balance classes, internships and life downtown.

Even now, back on the Hilltop, I still make regular trips downtown to see these friends. These visits have become an important part of my routine, a way to maintain the connections we fostered as we navigate the rest of our Georgetown experience.

Our Friendsgiving potluck! Checking out the National Mistletoe in downtown DC during a finals study break.

Beyond CALL

What started as a semester-long program has become a community that extends well beyond. The friendships I built downtown continue to remind me why I chose CALL in stepping outside my comfort zone, engaging more deeply with DC and connecting with people who share that same intentionality.

Beyond the immediate experience, my semester at CALL also helped me recognize something important about my own future. Living and interning downtown did not just add another dimension to my Georgetown experience. For the first time since arriving at college, I could envision building a career and community in DC that could continue after graduation.