On Feb. 28 Freedom High School art students took a trip to the Smithsonian American Art Museum to see modern day art and learn more there than the class could explain. Unexpectedly there was a surprise guest visiting that day, the childhood Nickelodeon star Drake Bell from the hit show “Drake & Josh.”

“He was a very nice guy, just like in the TV show and had made everyone’s day,” junior Vincent Le said. “My best high school memory by far.”

In the early afternoon, FHS students saw a crowd of people standing in a circle, swarming one person in the middle that was very hard to see. As they drew nearer, Drake Bell came into view, causing an outburst of excitement.

“Everyone had their phones out on Snapchat or Instagram in line waiting to take a picture,” senior Leslie Mejia Penate said.

Bell seemed to be overwhelmed by the swarm of students around him, but still joyful for all the admiration he was receiving.

“I also noticed how many celebrities deal with this kind of behavior almost every day and how exhausting it would become, as some have double or even triple the amount of followers that Drake Bell has,” Penate said.

This was a seemingly amazing experience, as it is not an everyday opportunity to meet a childhood idol.

“I’ve never met anyone famous before so I was kind of shocked,” senior Ava Ali said. “It was really cool because I used to watch him on TV and now I can say that I’ve talked to him and have a picture with him!”