Monday, July 3, 2017
By:
It is incredibly hard to believe that this week was the half way point of the internship. I have learned so much and have done so many things, but I still feel like I just got here. There is just so much to do here! This week was full of fun things to do, which kept me very busy all week!
As mentioned last week, I participated in an outreach event, the Superintendent’s Seminar hosted by Arlington Schools, with my friend Kate. The focus of the event was leadership, specifically leadership in a remote location. It was extremely enjoyable to be able to share my experiences in Antarctica while hearing more about Kate’s experiences, and to help explain the science behind the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. It was a fun expereince for me because the students were mostly junior and senior high schoolers, which means I was in their shoes only a few years ago. Since this portion of the seminar was located at the Arlington Planetarium, a dome version of “Chasing the Ghost Particle”, a short video made to explain the science behind IceCube, was shown. I have never seen the movie in that format, and it was absolutely stunning. Overall, it was fantastic interactig with a different group of students, and a wholly wonderful experience and I am extremely thankful that I was able to take part in the event.
This week we also had the tour of the capitol from the Mather Inters. I have never been to Capitol Hill before, so the tour was very informative and interesting. It is amazing to be right in the heart of the government, and Eleanor and Riley did a fantastic job at portraying that. We were able to sit in on a hearing about space propulsion on the House side, which was fascinating. We also toured the Senate side, the Capitol building and so much more. We even had a Mike Pence and Paul Ryan sighting!
Between the super interesting work, and all the progress I am making on my project, the social engagements, light exercising (free roller skating from the National Park Services) and a variety of other adventures, I still continue to thoroughly enjoy my time here in DC. Though I miss certian apects of home, it sure is going to be hard to leave the city, and all the people I have met so far, in a few short weeks.
Samantha Pedek