Week 10: Freedom from the Airport

Well, I’ve returned to my midwestern state of Missouri, it’s nice but it isn’t DC. Don’t get me wrong though; I’m happy to be home. I’ve missed my family and just home in general, but this summer in DC was a special experience.This final week passed incredibly fast; I just wish the flights home passed as fast as the week did (more on this later). 

With the presence of a big presentation coming at the end of the week, I spent a lot of time hyperfixating on it and trying to make it the best I could. This was what largely consumed the start of my week. As a change of pace though, Wednesday was truly appreciated. As my final day at NIST, it was beginning to weigh on me that I would be leaving DC in just a few days. I made sure to appreciate my final donuts and coffee provided to the interns at NIST thanks to Joe and his “coffee shop,”anemployee that kindly provided interns with donuts and coffee every Wednesday at NIST. After work, I joined Brynn and some of the researchers in her group for unlimited wings at Buffalo Wild Wings. I was disappointed in the number of wings I put up, but Icouldn’t have asked for a better way to end the summer at NIST.  

Thursday consisted of practice presentations and then a final potluck with the interns. First, it was super exciting to get a glimpse of what the interns had been working on this summer. Everyone had such cool projects and worked so hard to make the most of them. Second, Charlotte’s math when it comes to hot dogs is horrible, but thankfully there can never be enough chili dogs in the world so it’s okay. As usual, the interns pulled together to make an incredible dinner, with a main feature being the numerouspickles brought by Charles. I personally enjoy the occasional pickle, but just one and never two. Unfortunately, the other interns did not allow me the satisfaction of just one pickle, so I was pressured into a second one which was not appreciated. 

Now, we finally arrive on Friday, the final day of our program. We gathered to share our hard work from throughout the summer and say goodbyes to the SPS staff that supported us throughout this program (specifically shoutout to Mikayla and Kayla). Everybody did an incredible job presenting and we ended the day signing books (like yearbooks) given to us by Mikayla and Kayla. Moving past the symposium, a group of us went to play some final spikeball on the National Mall and ate out together. Before heading to bed, I stayed up for quite a while to just talk and hangout with a few others before finally saying goodbye to the friends I’ve made this summer. 

Saturday seemed like it would be a normal travel day for me, however, I was incredibly wrong. The morning was spent packing and saying goodbyes throughout the day, and I was set to arrive at the airport around 2:00 pm. After some trouble with an Uber driver, I made it to the airport with Johnny and Piper at my planned time. This is where everything didn’t go as planned, I spent the next two hours in line to drop my baggage off and then only made it onto my plane thanks to half my flight being in line with me, so they had to delay take off. However, this then was followed by sitting in the plane for 2 and a half hours, hoping to gain clearance to take off while a storm was approaching. Eventually this led to the deboarding of my flight and another 2-hour line so that I could rebook my connecting flight to get home.  After everything, I left DC at 12:30 am and landed in Atlanta around 2 am, where I found comfort in sleeping in the airport. I was able to finally get home around 11 am on Sunday. My sadness in leaving was replaced by immense joy as I stepped out of the airport to return home. 

With all of this said, I am incredibly grateful to SPS for allowing me this opportunity and choosing me. Thank you to the staff at SPS that makes this internship possible every year and thank you to my fellow interns for making this a summer for a lifetime.