Monday, August 8, 2016
By:
They make up everything.
The penultimate posting. Wow.
Nine weeks later and I’m facing down only five more days in this wonderful city I’ve truly come to call home over the summer. I knew from the beginning that I was going to like DC but truly had no idea just how much I would come to call the city mine. From the late nights walking the monuments to the evening runs to the chaotic commute, I can say that this has been an extraordinary experience all around. This week was much less busy than many previous ones have been which allowed me some space to reflect and take it all in.
Throughout the week, I arranged a few more lunches and meetings and phone calls with various professionals involved in science and policy throughout DC. A phone call with a freelance science writer and lunch with a woman who works at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy were two highlights, as was a meeting with a partner at a lobbying firm that represents research universities. Overall I’ve managed to score some very valuable and amazing insight into what the professional world that blends science and policy together and this has been one of my main takeaways from the summer. Sure, I’d blindly googled “science policy jobs” before this summer but before I really talked to these inspiring individuals I was unable to fully understand what that means. Being an ambassador for science and carrying forth its messages to spheres of government or public knowledge is an amazing task and one I hope to fulfill in some capacity one day.
Other highlights of the week included
- A pizza dinner at the SPS Communications Manager’s House that had a beautiful outdoor garden and a few ghost stories too
- Watching the opening ceremony for the Olympics at a local establishment Friday night
- Having a lovely dinner with Vanessa Saturday night
- A trip to Eastern Market Saturday that left me with fresh bags of spinach and peaches
- A little bit of studying, a little bit of laying around the house
Overall, not a bad week and looking forward to this final one and the adventures ahead!
Tabitha Colter