As soon as I received an email from Michelle Muzzillo, assistant director of Outreach & Staff Development for University Recreation, I jumped on the opportunity to take a trip to Kansas City, Missouri during Spring Break with students from UREC, The Multicultural Center, And International Students and Scholars.
As a current employee at UREC, I am always looking forward to the events that are offered to the student employees. Being an employee at UREC is one the best experiences of my undergraduate years and I always try to participate in the events offered to encourage further participation.
The day began at 7:15 a.m. in a rush to get out of the door. The bus was scheduled to be loaded and ready to leave at 8:30 with students arriving by 8:00. Students started to feed into the bus with tired eyes and anticipation. The drive to Kansas City was relaxing with a quick pitstop at McDonald’s halfway through. Finally, we arrived in the historic neighborhood of 18th and Vine in Kansas City, Missouri. This area is a place full of jazz, live music, and barbeque. Along with all of those it is home to our destination for the afternoon, the Negro Leagues Baseball and Jazz Museum. These museums are in the same building with the Jazz Museum to the left and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to the right. Both carefully curated and optimally laid out, these museums allow you to put yourself in a different era and mindset.
The students split into two groups to explore the museums. I started in the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum which starts with a 15-minute film about the rise and fall of the Negro Leagues. This is a critical time in baseball with incredibly dense history. The film outlined what you are about to walk through, which gave context and motivation to read the stories presented in front of you. After you finish walking through the storyline, it ends at the miniature baseball field with all the star players presented through the museum in their positions.
The entrance of the Jazz Museum was met with a passionate jazz musician who dressed the part. He explained that this museum also started with a film which explained the walkthrough of jazz history. This museum was interactive with songs, remixing stations, and stories told through famous jazz musicians’ voices. While walking around, the UREC group leader announced a live podcast was taking place at the Blue Room, a performance hall in the Jazz Museum. The podcast, Channel I-70, heard there were 40 of us and eagerly sought to have a live audience. Participating was a unique experience that we all enjoyed being a part of.
Afterwards, it was time to load the bus to our destination of the night, a KC Sporting soccer match versus the San Jose Earthquakes. We had incredible seats just a few rows off the field and were even able to get there early enough to see a few of their star players arrive at the game. The match itself provided entertainment and soccer experience that most students hadn’t seen before. The KC Sporting fans are very intense and passionately chant throughout the whole game. I have been to a few KC Sporting matches in the past and everyone is unforgettable. The entire stadium in vibrant Sporting blue and energetically anticipating a win for their team. In this MLS season, we witnessed KC Sporting’s first win.
This trip allowed me and many other students the ability to go off campus and try something that wouldn’t normally be available. I enjoyed getting to know students and professional staff better throughout this experience along with two different times and events in history that I knew little about. Providing an experience like a day trip to Kansas City is integral to growing the University of Arkansas community and allowing students to come together. I am very grateful to have been a part of this trip and get to experience a wonderful city that is rich with cultural.
