Over the summer, I completed Ohio State’s Washington Academic Internship Program (WAIP). I interned four days a week with the nonprofit organization, the Partnership for Public Service, and took classes both asynchronously and in-person. Finally, I participated in weekly professional development activities as part of the program’s requirements.
Washington DC is a diverse city full of different socioeconomic, racial, age, political and social identities. Individuals come to the area from all over the country and the world, and they all are seeking different opportunities and experiences there. This is especially true in the summer term, where students specifically are looking for internship and academic programs. I had always thought of Washington DC from a political perspective, seeing it only as the nation’s capital. I gained an incredible appreciation for the cultural, historic, and artistic side of the city. Since I spent an entire summer in the city (as opposed to past weekend trips), I was able to fully immerse myself in everything the area has to offer, like museums, local businesses, the professional world, restaurants, festivals, markets, and more. After a summer that truly flew by, I left Washington with a deeper understanding that expanded far beyond just the political side of it.
I learned not only about other people and their backgrounds, but I also learned a lot about myself from both a professional and personal perspective. Since I started realistically thinking about my future educational and career path in high school (and continuing through college), my interests have always aligned with helping people. Originally, I thought this passion would manifest most with running for and/or working within an elected office. After completing my STEP project, I have found this is no longer the case. I still want to be in a career field that directly works with and helps others, but I have a different idea of how this can look in an actual job. I found that I am most interested in helping others identify and develop their passions and connecting them with the necessary resources to act on those passions. From a personal side, I became significantly more confident in myself and my post-graduation plans. This past summer was the first time I have been completely on my own and responsible for my own professional, personal, and social responsibilities and aside from moving to campus, this was the first time I was in as large and as new of an environment as Washington DC. There were several overall experiences that helped lead to these transformations.
First, my internship played a significant role in facilitating the transformation I described above. This position was my first time both working full time and working at a nonprofit organization. I now have a more in depth understanding of how a nonprofit operates internally, receives funding, decides what opportunities to pursue, and interacts with external stakeholders. I have seen firsthand how a nonprofit organization works with both the public and for-profit sectors. Seeing this interaction, I have learned how interconnected and interdependent the world of public service is. As a public policy and business student, I was also able to make real-life connections with and practice concepts and ideas that have been part of my education for the past three years. Although I originally assumed most of public service work and social advocacy was facilitated through government roles, I now have a better understanding of all the different actors that are involved with them. I also have expanded my view of different career paths that may not be directly government related but still have a public service goal.
Additionally, Washington DC has a huge professional culture of what are called “coffee chats”. These are short, informal meetings where you have a conversation about things like someone’s background, their work experiences, education paths, and similar topics. The end goal is to learn more about a position you may want to hold and to facilitate a connection that you can utilize in the future. These coffee chats were another significant factor in my professional growth during the summer. I now have a more realistic view of the variability of career and graduate school paths. Although it seems like common sense, it can be hard to internalize the idea that everyone follows a unique path when people are always asking college students what their post-graduation plans are and judging their responses. It was incredibly helpful to speak with individuals, both at my office and Ohio State alumni that I met through WAIP, who were able to find an outlet for their passions even though they all had different educational and careers paths. The coffee chats that stand out the most to me are the ones I had with my organization’s federal workforce team. This team focuses on career services, and they work with college students and young professionals to help them understand the benefits of working in public service positions and then connect them with the necessary resources to be successful. Speaking with these individuals is what initially sparked my interest in pursuing this type of work after graduation. In general, I also have a significantly more broad of a view of what it means for someone to be in a position that is public service oriented.
Finally, I would not have had as transformative of an experience throughout my STEP project without the other members of my cohort. We immediately created a sense of community because of our shared identities as Ohio State students and young professionals trying to break into the fast-paced environment of Washington DC. This community helped ease a very difficult transition at the beginning of the summer. Although I was still challenged throughout my internship and academic responsibilities, I knew I had a group of other people that were facing similar challenges. I relied heavily on my cohort, and vice versa, when I felt overwhelmed or a sense of imposter syndrome. We also shared different professional development, cultural, and social events happening throughout the summer. People were always throwing invitations to go to museums, bookstores, and festivals in our group chat. DC is a huge city with countless events happening, and there is no way for one person to keep track of everything happening. I owe countless experiences to my cohort members, and these invites helped me learn more about the city as well as their interests and backgrounds.
The changes I have described are significant to my life because they have guided how I now plan my short- and long-term future from an academic, personal, and professional perspective. Academically, my long-term goals still include attending law school, and hopefully practicing in the constitutional and defense fields of law. However, I am now planning to take several “gap” years before starting my legal education to pursue more community-oriented work. From a personal standpoint, I learned the importance of balancing my time and finding creative outlets to de-stress and relax after work and school commitments. I also plan to use the time away from school to explore this side of my life more, something I have done inconsistently in the past, but that I would like to dedicate more time to. Finally, from a professional point of view, I now have a better understanding of the different career paths, aside from elected office, that are still public service oriented and work with individuals directly. I can use this understanding to help guide my thinking around potential career opportunities in the future.
