Internship Experience

Growing up, political issues were a common topic of discussion during family dinner. My father would pause between bites to mention a provocative headline he had read in the paper or an interesting data point from an article a friend had forwarded to him.

When I read my supervisor’s latest message, apologizing again for forgetting to do what he said he would, I immediately felt the familiar wave of frustration come over me. My co-intern and I had been waiting for his response for hours. We had been staring at the ‘read’ receipt from our supervisor, growing more stressed by the minute. I could already hear my professor’s voice in my head, reminding me of one of the most common pitfalls of an internship experience.

Emotional resilience was the name of the game at my internship with a nonprofit in Washington D.C. With a focus on preventing sexual exploitation, horrific case studies and tearful testimonies were just another part of the job.

I wouldn’t consider myself an introvert.

New is exciting, glamorous, adventurous. I’ve heard on TV that “new is always better.” New, however, can also be challenging, overwhelming, and require you to do or know something different than past you knew or did.

When I applied to intern at the Public Defender’s Service for the District of Columbia (PDS), I assumed I would be sorting paperwork, taking notes in meetings, or canvassing a neighborhood or two. Later, as I was assigned to be an “investigative intern,” I thought my Instagram stalking skills would make finding the information I needed an easy process.

The idea of a career in politics scared me. After all, isn’t politics just a storm of strong partisan opinions fueled by inevitable controversy and inescapable contention? That certainly wasn’t what I wanted out of public service. I wanted to learn how to work with others to make a difference in the world.

It was a gloomy Tuesday in January and pouring rain as I splashed to work for my first day as an intern at the Scottish Parliament.

July 27, 2020

July 27, 2022

July 14, 2022

July 8, 2022

July 8, 2022

June 28, 2021

September 14, 2020

September 11, 2020

May 5, 2020

September 11, 2020