Week One - Getting Settled In

I can’t believe I’m finally in D.C.! I’ve been anticipating move-in and the start of this internship for what feels like years, but it really came up so quickly looking back – and I’m ecstatic to finally be here. Move-in was a breeze and getting to explore this part of D.C. on Sunday and Monday for the first time was a lot of fun. Although this isn’t my first time in D.C., I feel like I see something new and exciting every time I look up, and that’s what I love about walkable cities like this. On Monday night, all of us interns went out to dinner together to celebrate a birthday, and then met back up in mine and my roommate’s dorm afterwards to play some card games, and it has been an amazing time getting to meet all of them.  

On Tuesday, all the SPS interns gathered again, but this time for our orientation and our first time in the American Center for Physics over at College Park. Meeting all of the national SPS leadership and learning more about the organization was 1) super fun and 2) very informative, and I can’t wait to take back the information I learned to my local SPS chapter. We also had a small competition to find out who could build the tallest spaghetti-marshmallow tower. I really thought our team was beat, but in a last-minute turn of events, we somehow won! I also got to meet my mentor for the first time in person on Tuesday afternoon. I’ll be working as the FYI Science Policy news intern and meeting my mentor to learn about the daily work I’ll be doing was amazing! I’ve never done work in science policy, so this opportunity to explore a field that’s new to me is very exciting. There’s a pretty wide range of tasks I could get involved with this summer and I’m looking forward to the experience.  

On Wednesday, we had another orientation session, but I also got to attend some interesting meetings in the afternoon. This is my first time having a hybrid-remote job, and I’ve been enjoying it so far. Some of the other interns and I also went to sit on the Mall later in the day with blankets and some books, and it was a really nice evening – the sunset was gorgeous. Thursday was probably my favorite day so far – I was back in the office, and I got my first writing assignment! I also got to go out to lunch with the other members of the FYI team and that was a lot of fun. I went to a craft store after work with my roommate and I finally got some crochet supplies! 

Finally, on Friday, I was working from home again and I feel like it was a really productive day. For that spaghetti competition I mentioned, my team was awarded a gift card for Captain Cookie, so I went there after work to grab some cookies for all of the interns. Then, some of us headed over to Union Market, which is one of my personal favorite spots in DC, to grab some dinner. Saturday was also an amazing day – I have quite a few friends I know up here from my university, so I went to the National Gallery of Art with one of my geology friends. It was the perfect way to wrap up the end of a busy but rewarding first week!