Washington D.C.

CAPS, D.C., and Beyond by Daniel Herschel

This entry was tagged Internews Washington D.C. and posted on by

Throughout these closing weeks of my summer in DC, I have found that it is getting easier to lose focus.  As the uncertainty of what comes next looms large ahead of me, I find myself seeking distraction to keep apprehensive feelings at bay. Luckily, CAPS has provided me with opportunities to reflect, and this has helped bring me back to focus. A reflect-in here, a email thread with our CAPS director Katie there, and I find big questions again being brought to the forefront of my mind. Sometimes, when reflecting, it is easy for me to see the negative things. For example, I think that if I had been more organized, I would have done a great deal more of job searching earlier in the summer. At the same time, I think about how I wanted to try to dive into DC head-on as much as possible. Looking back, I […]

The Importance of Knowledge by Jade Curless 1 comment

This entry was tagged Venn Strategies Washington D.C. and posted on by

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 […]

DC, Internews, and Beyond by Daniel Herschel

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Trying to summarize my experiences in Washington, DC, so far this summer, despite the short time that I have been here, is a somewhat challenging task.  I have learned a great deal of new information, whether it be at work or while experiencing the city. Much of this information I have taken at face value, trusting in the knowledge of those more experienced with DC than myself.  But as I have begun to acclimate to DC life and met more and more people, I am beginning to process my early experiences and make my own connections. And in some cases, I am starting to challenge some of my initial assumptions and things I have been told. My first few weeks at Internews were fairly quiet.  I met with Jon, my supervisor, was given a desk space and laptop, was introduced to my coworkers who were in the office that day, […]

T-Minus One Semester: Differing Shades of Uncertainty by Emily Nelson

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As I wrap up my last three weeks in Washington, D.C., I’m reflecting on the mounting ambiguity that’s slowly creeping into my life. Some of these forces have been expected; the events that directly preceded or have happened during my stay make for a rather tumultuous timeline. My grandmother passed away, my parents have moved, and I’m entering my last semester of undergrad after the conclusion of this fellowship. I guess it’s consolation that many of my peers are in the same position of uneasiness heading into the future, but it’s troubling nonetheless. I am very thankful that I’ve been able to spend my summer in D.C. This area is a networking hotspot, and running into dignitaries or prominent government officials is no surprise. A few weeks ago, I attended an Interfaith Community work meeting for my organization. The director of Asian American Pacific Islander Initiatives at the White House […]

D.C. is More than Just Politics by Maddie Morehead 2 comments

This entry was tagged IREX Washington D.C. and posted on by

D.C. is lively and thriving. D.C. is friendly and beautiful. D.C. is jazzy and historic. D.C. is full of excitement and people from every walk of life with a different story or perspective worth sharing. Being in a new city is a great excuse for friends to visit, and having a friend visit is a great excuse to explore the depths of said new city. A couple weeks ago, a friend that I met through my fall semester study abroad experience came to DC to visit me, and as any good friend would, I became a tourist with her. We took a tour of “Black Broadway”, near Howard University, where tribute is payed to African American artists like Marvin Gaye, Chuck Brown, Sister Rosetta Tharpe , and Aretha Franklin. We learned about the fight it took to keep Go-Go alive – a genre that originated from The District, and joined […]

Navigating the First Day by Jade Curless

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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 […]

Midwestern Girl, Big City by Maddie Morehead 1 comment

This entry was tagged IREX Washington D.C. and posted on by

In the week and a half that I’ve been here, I’ve become accustomed to the hustle and bustle of the city streets. As I commute to work, I pass the men in the hard hats and yellow jackets hard at work, the woman who sits in her lawn chair on the sidewalk day in and day out watching the people pass on their way from their 9-5, the man selling the newspaper at the metro stop yelling good morning to the distracted daily commuters, and the bus that always threatens to run me over if I don’t cross the walkway quickly enough. Although for many people in D.C. this routine is just a part of their everyday, mundane lives, I find myself to be one of the only people smiling as I take in each and every little aspect of my morning commute. As I walk to work, I make […]

Welcome to Washington D.C. by Emily Nelson

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   Thank God for seats on the metro, and good riddance to those who stand on the left side of the escalator during the morning rush. Being from Japan, courtesy on public transportation is a must, and it’s helped be more cognizant of the culture in D.C. To be clear, there are numerous cultures, whether ethnic,organizational, or linguistic, in D.C. due to the diversity. Instead of being a tourist (as I was eight years ago), I’m an intern, and am gifted with 10 weeks instead of one. This gives me a lot more time to explore what this place has to offer, and I am living for it.    I start my day at 7:30, waking to the constant hiss of the air conditioner. After dressing business casual and gathering my bearings, I take the elevator 10 floors down to the lobby. 9 stops on the Metro later, I get off […]

Fake It ‘Til You Make It

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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 […]

The Summit of the Summer

This entry was tagged IREX Washington D.C. and posted on by

700 fellows. 48 sub Saharan African countries. 3 days. 1 incredible experience. To say that the past two weeks working at IREX has been an adventure, would be an understatement. On July 29, all of the 2018 Mandela Washington Fellows from 27 institutes across the country descended onto downtown Washington DC for the annual Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit to close their fellowship experience. This summer, my internship working with the YALI (Young African Leader Initiative) team involved pouring over spreadsheets, looking through passports and tax back forms, and running errands all over the city. While I learned tons from my co workers, especially with technical skills in excel and salesforce, I eagerly awaited getting to meet our fellows in person. Last Sunday, all of the YALI team packed our bags and moved into the Omni Shoreham Hotel, where the Summit was to take place. The days were long and tiring […]

Meeting People with Passion

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Last summer at the end of my internship my coworker told me her favorite quote, “One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested”- E.M. Forster. But as a I packed 28 boxes filled with cell phones, insurance cards, and hundreds of papers, to be sent to universities across the country earlier this week, I could not help from thinking that maybe 40 interested people may actually be useful. In all seriousness though, that quote has really stuck with me over the past year as I traveled abroad to Namibia and now as I have begun my CAPS placement at IREX in Washington DC.   IREX is an international nonprofit that focuses on development. In the past I have worked with several very small NGOS, often with a local staff of 2-3 people. IREX though has a staff of over 400 world wide and 178 locally, so when […]

LET’S GO CAPS 1 comment

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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 […]

Home and the Yellow Man 1 comment

This entry was tagged CAPS Fellowship LSA Lutheran Services in America Washington D.C. and posted on by

I have never been a fan of change. Until college, I lived in the same house my entire life. I’ve gone to the same church since I was a toddler. I attended the same school from preschool to eighth grade. And my taste in food hasn’t changed since I was eight (corn dogs continue to be a staple in my diet). So when I had to move (a whopping two hours away) to Valpo, you can probably imagine my feelings on the topic. You know that Yellow Man on Google Street-View Maps that you drag and drop to different places? Have you ever noticed how much that Yellow Man squirms when you move him? That’s how I felt about college. Squirmy. Going to Valpo meant removing myself from a safely content life of friends and family and faith, and dropping into a Street View I didn’t recognize and didn’t particularly […]

Who is (not) my Neighbor?

This entry was tagged Homelessness Neighbors Priviledge Rain So. Much. Rain. Washington D.C. and posted on by

The Sunday of Independence Day weekend, I woke up bright and early to attend a worship service at a new church in my neighborhood. Previous weekends, you could find me at what I would consider to be a “popular church”- a well-attended, multi-satellite, free donuts before service kind of congregation located in a theater. You can picture it, can’t you? I’d chosen this welcoming community for the past weeks because I enjoyed the company of a friend who went there. The only inconvenience about this arrangement was that the church was located quite far from where we were living to the point where we had to take a train and walk a significant distance to get there. I had been wanting to support a local congregation for some time, so when my friend went out of town for the weekend I decided to do so then. I spotted a local […]

Kick Back, Eat a Spongepop 1 comment

This entry was tagged Capitol Hill Fellow LSA Lutheran Services in America Washington D.C. and posted on by

Last week marked my halfway point with the CAPS program and Lutheran Services in America (LSA). My first month in DC has been, quite simply, a whirlwind. From jazz nights to weekend markets, from baseball games on warm nights to shady lunches by the Capitol, my time here has been moving at an uneven pace, creeping along at some moments but mostly leaping forward in bounds. It’s been exhausting and wonderful. But it wasn’t until this last weekend, when I spent some time away from DC, that I understood what has been making my summer here so special. I spent my holiday weekend in Houston (a city where the Fourth isn’t so much unique and glamorous as it is a slightly bigger show of Texas’ daily patriotism), and as I told my boyfriend story after story about LSA and DC, I realized a truth that applies to most great experiences: […]

The “Firsts” of Many

This entry was tagged Action Advocacy Capitol Hill LSA Lutheran Services in America Member Engagement Washington D.C. and posted on by

This week marks one month living and interning in our nation’s capitol. Each day begins with me walking wide-eyed up Capitol Hill as government buildings and monuments peep through the trees on my daily commute. I’m so grateful to be participating in such a fellowship where I live and work in intentional community. Being the first of my suite-mates to arrive in the city set in-motion a series of ‘firsts’; my first train ride, first wrong stop on the way home (not all Metro lines are created equal), first to realize our door can lock on its own (it’s not a loss if you learn?) and my first fire alarm scare (if it’s not right when you’re ready for bed, did it really happen?). With those kind of experiences also came the first time I saw the view from our terrace at dusk, my first Metro card and ride paid for by a […]