From the Intern - My DC Experience by Sabine Dunac
This post comes directly from one of our DC summer interns.

Originally I was taking Pre- Media and Communications at Algonquin College in order to gain more knowledge of the media. After finishing a year in Pre- Media and Communications I had planned to enroll in the Print-Journalism program at Algonquin, but I did not pass the entrance exam. After this I became very discouraged but was determined to go to J-school.

I decided to work for a year and save up money, but I wanted to do something with myself. At first I wanted to do volunteer work but then someone suggested to me that I should do an internship. I thought this was a wonderful idea! My sister and I researched online for an organization that would set up an internship for me in a different country.

After doing an hour of research I came across the Global Experiences website. I looked at the prices, read the testimonials and checked out what the internships had to offer.

When I first called the organization I talked to Jessica Burns, who was an internship consultant for Global Experiences. Jessica was very friendly and was easy to talk to. She also answered all my questions about the internship. The thing I liked about Jessica is that there was constant communication between us and I felt like I go to her if I had a random question or concern.

When I first arrived in Washington, D.C. it was an overwhelming feeling of nervousness and excitement. I instantly fell in love with the city. Jessica came to meet me at the airport, which was awesome because I finally got to put a face to the person I had been speaking with for months. As I said before I was very nervous but Jessica welcomed me to city and I soon felt right at home. On the first day in Washington we went to eat some lunch then we did a little shopping. Jessica then took time to show me around the area. I knew where to go grocery shopping, go out for entertainment, and how to take the subway and so on.

I loved staying at the George Washington residence because, not only did I meet people through my Global Experiences, but I also met people in the GW residence. The residence was full of people all over the U.S. who were all partaking in an internship. Every one for the most part was very friendly and I made many friends that I still keep in contact with today.

My first day at work was discouraging but the reason for that is because I got way too ahead of myself. On the first day of work I thought I was going to just jump right into things. I can tell you now that if my mentor had thrown me into the tasks she had planned for me at the beginning I would have cried. Throughout the week I progressively started to get bigger tasks. I talked to Jessica about it and the advice that she gave me was that I needed to constantly ask to do things. “Your internship is what you make of it.”

I told my mentor at work that I wanted to work on the media aspects of things because I was going to school for journalism and she let me take care of some press work for the firm. My first big project I did was that I planned out a press conference for our health care campaign. That was a very stressful week but when I look back at it I smile and say “Wow I actually did that by myself.” I still have the article from the TV stations that covered the event. This was invaluable experience, especially because I received this experience at such a young age. I met a former AP reporter at the firm and she, not only guided me, but gave me advice on how I could reach my future goal of becoming a foreign correspondent.

When I say take advantage of your internship I mean it! There are so many opportunities in Washington that I took advantage of. There were many press conferences and hearings that I went to. I went to a journalism press conference and it was fantastic. I met a well - known reporter from the Washington Post and I actually got to sit down and talk with him about how journalism is changing and what that meant for me as young adult entering the field.

Washington has completely changed my perspective on things and I feel like I really grew up. When I got back home I felt more confident about myself and my future. I know what I want and I know how to get there. Washington was a huge stepping stone for me. I have no doubt that I will be revisiting the busy city sometime soon!

My advice is to take LOTS of pictures and blog about your trip if you can. It’s something nice to look back at and to see what you have accomplished over time.