After finally retreating home from our nation’s capital, I have finally been able to reflect on the significance of my CAPS experience and what it has taught me. After working at Venn Strategies this summer, I have gained numerous professional skills and an overall deeper understanding of how politics functions in the United States. Working at a governmental affairs firm has provided me with a much more in-depth view of how our government operates and how policy is a constant battle. As a general research intern at Venn, I was able to work on a variety of issues. I did research on the devastating maternal mortality rate in the U.S., a crisis where black mothers die at a rate 3 to 4 times greater than their white counterparts despite the socioeconomic conditions. I also had an ongoing project where I researched the upcoming revisions of the Dietary Guidelines. I learned […]

Getting acclimated to Washington D.C. has been a much harder task than what I originally anticipated. Living in this city has pushed me to think more intentionally about my actions and how I process my environment. I’ve always viewed myself as an adaptable person, someone who is excited for change or the aspect for something new; however, the first week in this new setting did not go as planned. On my first day of my internship I woke up early, partly because of the early eastern coast sunrise, but mostly because I couldn’t wait to start this new chapter in my life. After completing our morning ritual, my roommates and I headed for the metro train and were ready to take on our jobs in the city. We eventually all split off throughout D.C. to our job sites. Unfortunately for me, the next step of my morning was not my […]

Finishing up my time as a CAPS Fellow has been a blur. I finished up my last day, packed up my apartment, and caught a 7am flight to Boston to meet my family. Now I’m back home in Wisconsin for a lengthy six days before blasting off to study abroad in Costa Rica for the semester. All that being said, time to reflect has been scarce. I’m still coming to terms with everything I learned throughout my CAPS experience but I’ve definitely seen myself grow as a person, both personally and in my career aspirations. When I started at Venn, I knew I felt like I was in way over my head. I didn’t have a firm grip on what I was doing and at times I was drowning trying to learn everything at once. I felt incredibly unprepared about the work I was doing and thought everyone around me […]

C-A-P-S LET’S GO CAPS! This was the constant refrain around DC and outside Capital One Arena last Thursday night as fellow CAPS member Caroline and I watched the Capitals bring home the Stanley Cup. It was incredible to see the energy and watch the city come alive around the event. D.C. is an amazing city, vibrant and overflowing with political energy and I have really enjoyed my time here so far.  The cheering refrain was also a constant reminder of my CAPS internship and the reason I’m able to have these experiences this summer. I’m interning with Venn Strategies, a government relations and public affairs firm in the heart of Washington, D.C. I just finished up my third week and it has been a whirlwind. I am a part of two client teams based around tax and infrastructure, two things I knew very little about before arriving here. It’s been […]