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Archives for July 2015

Things I learned as an Intern at the Hill

29Jul

1. Washington DC is awesome.

There is so much history and there is a very proud American feel in the environment.

2. Be a tourist but don’t look like one.

When getting off the metro, walk on the left and stand on the right especially during the workweek.
When heading to work dress professionally but wear comfy shoes if you have to walk a bit.
No one cares if you are wearing tennis shoes with your professional work clothes, what matters is getting to the office in time without falling or getting blisters before you actually get into the office. The metro can get you close to where you want to go but for some destinations, if you don’t have a car, you’ll have to walk quite a lot, so put your heels in your bag and then change into them.

3. Georgetown Cupcakes are not the only cupcakes in DC, try Baked and Wired too!

4. The DC Metro is easy to get used to.

Study your metro route before the start of your internship
You know the direction in which the train is going by the destination it has on its lightboard.
example: If you’re heading to the Hill from Crystal City, take the yellow line toward Fort Totten and get off on L’enfant plaza and then take any train on the Largo side. You’ll know what I am talking about later.

5. When working on Hill, there will already be other interns from different schools.

First, be friends with them.
Two, if there are too many interns and you’re not doing much because your supervisor has not assigned you anything, it’s okay. Your supervisor knows that you are in the office, you could ask them every once in while if there is anything that you can do, but if they haven’t assigned you anything it means there do not have anything.
Three, get out of the office, if you are not doing anything and the phones are being taken care of.
capitolgrapevine.com
Four, even if you realize that your internship is not the career that you want to take, do your job.
Don’t be afraid to tell your supervisor how you feel about the job, but keep in mind that they are the ones that write your letter of recommendation.

5.Brunch is the thing to do in DC, but make reservations or call ahead.

6.White House tours are very hard to get, as soon as you know that you are coming to DC, fill out a White House tour application.

7. The only thing that DC does better than Texas is the weather.

But Texas has better Mexican food than all of the east coast.

8.Giving Capitol Tours are really fun!

The training session is terribly long but taking constituents to the Capitol gets you out of the office, you get to talk about American history, and you get to know and interact with the constituents!
For the whisper spot, it takes a little bit of practice to get it right and it works a lot better if there are not a lot of people in Statuary Hall.

Ada Morales

Office of Congressman Vela

Washington, D.C. – Summer 2015

ANRP 25th Anniversary

22Jul

Kotula ReceptionHowdy! My name is Chris Kotula and I am currently interning for Congressman John Carter on Capitol Hill.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the ANRP 25th anniversary reception being held in the Capitol. The event was a time for Aggies from all over the Washington, D.C. area to come together and celebrate the achievements of the ANRP program. It truly was a once in a lifetime experience, showing me in person how extensive the Aggie network is even so far away from home. The doors that the network opens up is truly amazing, I got to meet congressional staffers, lobbyists, a United States Colonel, and a handful of congressman all of which were alum of Texas A&M. Regardless of their occupation or years outside of the university everyone was incredibly nice and showed their Aggie spirit and willingness to help me out in any way I felt necessary. I ended up going home with a pocketful of business cards and new connections from all over the D.C. area.

Chris Kotula

Office of Congressman John Carter

Washington, D.C. – Summer 2015

What To Do When You Don’t Like Your Internship

19Jul

1. Admit that you do not like your internship.

Keep calm and breathe because that is completely okay.

Contrary to what most of my fellow co-interns would say, I do not like my intership. I am not saying that I hate it and dread coming to work, but that I realized that this type of work is not what I want to do the rest of my life. I definitely do not regret taking this internship because it gave a once in a lifetime experience, which I am very thankful for. After all, an internship is meant to give you a taste of a particular career; to learn about yourself and make smart decisions yourself.

2. Ask yourself, what would you rather do?

Personally, I wish I was back in Texas doing research with my little parasitic wasps, I’m trying to finish my grad schools applications now. Take this experience to get to know your future a little better. Ask yourself, “ do I like the environment I am in? am I enjoying this assignment? am I proud of the work that I just submitted to my boss?” Knowing that you aren’t too happy where you are, opens your mind to the career you would rather be in.

3. Walk around.

Go to a meeting that you know you have no interest in (it could become interesting), talk to people, research something, read a book, ask your supervisor about other work/intern opportunities, they might just know someone that has your same interests. It won’t hurt at all, I promise.

4. You do you.

Find little things that make your internship enjoyable. For me, I love the all the free coffee and lunches! And I really like to dress up and wear medium sized heels, I can’t do that at grad school or in a research lab. Also, if you are interning in a city that is not home, take advantage of that; find restaurants that you won’t be able to find back home, visit local landmarks, and make it a goal to at least make one new friend.

5. Still do your job.

There’s nothing worse than having an intern that does not do what is expected out of them. You may not enjoy it but you do need a good letter of recommendation so work for it.

 

Ada Morales

Office of Congressman Filemon Vela

Washington, D.C. – Summer 2015

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