We're off! Today, Leap Day, ten of us are headed to New York City to visit the Bronx Science High School. We got up early - some earlier than 5am - and headed to the bus. From there we drove to Detroit Metro and flew into LaGuardia. This trip is my very first visit to New York City and I couldn't be more excited. After we landed, we drove to our hotel and ran to lunch. We ate at a tasty New York chain called Shake Shack. Following Shake Shack we all decided to do a little exploring on our own. I went to Central Park and had a blast. Walking around seeing all these places that I've seen thousands of times in movies seemed so surreal. It was entirely a treat.

The ten of us re-grouped to go to dinner where we ate Thai food and mingled with New York's section of professional SWE. It was really nice to meet up with SWEople from a different part of the country and talk to them about what SWE is like post-grad.

After dinner, we said goodbye to the members of professional SWE and headed to the Empire State building for some great views. Needless to say, we were not disappointed. The city looked absolutely stunning at night from all sides. Following the Empire State building (where none of us pressed all of the elevator buttons like Buddy the Elf), we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to be here this week and I look forward to everything that is to come!

End scene,

Kate