I participated in the Washington Academic Internship Program through the John Glenn College of Public Affairs this summer. I participated as a John Glenn Fellow in Washington, D.C., and took a full load of classes while I worked at an internship. I worked as a communications intern at U.S. News & World Report and grew personally, academically, and professionally.

I am originally from Dayton, Ohio, so although I am entering my fourth year at Ohio State, I have never lived entirely on my own. I learned much about myself and developed many professional skills I will carry with me throughout my future endeavors. I definitely had many assumptions about how the 9-5 work-life functioned in Washington, D.C., public transportation, and life after college. This experience offered so much insight into what study habits, work environments, office settings, and living spaces I function best in. My capabilities as a professional in this field have also significantly transformed. WAIP was my first formal work experience, and I acquired many transferable skills that will surely help me succeed in other roles. I was also exposed to many inspirational professionals who offered great insight into the paths I could take following my graduation from Ohio State.  This experience was the first real glimpse into what life after college would be like and has been instrumental in navigating what transformative experience I pursue next. 

The Washington Academic Internship Program is unique because it exposes you to many resources. Although we didn’t move to Washington D.C. until mid-May,  the work for the program began in February. We were required to submit 10 internship applications each week from February until we found our placement. I did not finalize my placement until late April, so I spent most of the spring semester juggling classes, managing student organization executive boards, my job, and the extensive application process for landing a summer internship in Washington, D.C. Throughout this process, the WAIP program provided us with resources such as resume revision, mock interview practice, cover letter development help, and extensive support with the internship search process. The coordinators of this program were incredibly supportive and gave me the first glimpse into the job search process. The preliminary internship search process taught me many lessons and skills that will be integral when I begin the job search process for life outside of college. 

The work week for us was extremely busy with students a part of this program as we were balancing program attendance three days out of the week in addition to our 9-5 work schedules Monday through Thursday. During the three WAIP program commitments during the week, we attended class, led and listened to panels of professionals from all over D.C., and participated in study tours of esteemed establishments all over D.C. Interacting with professionals from various fields was incredibly enlightening and helped me picture different career paths to pursue in my professional career. It was so eye-opening because the panelists, most of whom were Ohio State alums, had such diverse paths that often started with the WAIP program during their undergraduate programs. Witnessing these endless opportunities and paths outside of Ohio was extraordinarily comforting and exposed me to paths I would not have otherwise known. 

Additionally, through my internship, I met some highly esteemed professionals who worked in a variety of fields. Working for such a large company exposed me to a wide variety of professional resources and professionals within and outside it. This also was instrumental in my consideration of some of the inspirational work and roles at U.S. News & World Report. 

As a first-generation Eritrean American and college student, my exposure to diverse professional pathways was extremely limited growing up. WAIP was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where I got real-world professional experience and progressed as a student. The public policy courses we took during this program were incredibly enlightening and sparked my greater interest in public affairs. I am double majoring in International Studies and Strategic Communication on the pre-law track. Following my time with WAIP, I plan to add on a Public Policy minor. My experiences with U.S. News & World Report were highly relevant to my Strategic Communication major and offered great exposure to Public Relations and Communications at a larger scale. As a pre-law student, I have many aspirations related to the legal field. The many panelists we met, study tours we attended, and content we learned from our courses offered me many perspectives on the policy and legal field. I have much to consider as I will soon navigate life after college. This program has been so motivational and educational. I am deeply grateful for my time there and have much more work to do to ensure I end up back in Washington, D.C., hopefully in one of the panelist seats one day, sharing my experiences, supported by Ohio State, with other Buckeyes.