It was without a doubt the craziest, weirdest, strangest, most exciting time of my life. I had the opportunity to work with, live with, and become friends with people I would have never met otherwise. I can’t imagine what my life is going to be like without them.
For those who didn’t read from the beginning, I was an intern with the United States Marshals Service (USMS) and I miss it every single day! I worked in Human Resources (HR) and had the opportunity to see the “other side” of what happens in the federal government. I am grateful for interning in HR, as I would have never really had an understanding of the behind-the-scenes work. Administrative and HR work definitely isn’t taught in textbooks.
My class that I took was Essentials for Aspiring Leaders with Dr. Keaton. It was a great class to take because it was relatively small (just eight people,) but it was extremely interesting! I learned all about leadership theories, types of personalities, working across generations, and more. I was able to develop better study habits to bring back in the fall for my senior year. I managed to actively participate in class every single week, and was able to interact with other people who I might have never talked to in the first place.
I was able to develop and perfect leadership skills that I had not previously possessed. My class was a direct link into my development of said skills. I was able to to observe leaders in the news and compared their application of leadership to the factual knowledge that I was picking up from the classroom. I believe that I was successful in using the class to become a leader myself. I have developed more confidence as a result of the class in one semester, more than I have ever before in my life. I am certain that I will be able to take the leadership skills with me across other facets as I prepare to enter my last year of college.
I grew as an individual more in this semester than I have during any other experience so far in my life. I became far more assertive, productive, and positive seemingly overnight. By keeping myself motivated throughout the day, I was able to cut back on somewhat bad habits that I had, and this stemmed from my academic and leadership pursuits. Keeping positive throughout the day and being productive are two ways I was able to keep myself motivated to wake up every day and do work throughout the semester.
Originally I had planned to complete my civic engagement with the DC Veteran’s Medical Center. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet this goal due to the location of the facility and the hours concerned with it in addition to my work schedule. I don’t regret this happening, as everything does seemingly happen for a reason. I do feel very passionately about youth programs, and was able to volunteer at Metro TeenAIDS, which caters to DC teenagers in the city and provides them a safe place to hang out, activities, and free testing and contraceptives. I also assisted at the Carpenter’s Shelter, a shelter for in transition homeless families, by watching children while their parents were able to take parenting classes to work on their parenting skills.
I had the greatest time at my internship. I had the time of my life, as corny as that may seem. USMS was great to me. I worked with and learned from some of the most compassionate, funny, and smart people I have ever met. I am grateful that I was able to have such a fun semester. I end this blog with a few of my favorite pictures from the semester: me and my roommates, me in front of my favorite president at my favorite memorial, and the street sign near a particularly famous white house. My final bit of advice about this semester that I can offer is enjoy every single day, work as hard as possible, and meet as many people as time allows. You never know where life’s crazy journey is going to take you, especially down in DC, but rest assured, the ride is worth it.
