Hi guys!
I can’t believe that my two weeks at the State Department have already gone by. Still, I can honestly say that this is one of the best experiences that I have ever had. If anyone reading this is interested in interning at State in the future, I would highly encourage it, and please feel free to reach out to me!
Within my office in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, there are people who focus on different areas of human rights. Most of what I do involves Internet Freedom, which is fascinating because I never would have thought that it is related to human rights, but I now understand that freedom of expression should still apply on online.
My internship responsibilities depend on the day, but, generally, I conduct research, write briefs, attend meetings, and take notes throughout the week. I was surprised when I first started because I was not expecting to have a lot of things to do, but I am actually given a lot of projects and tasks to complete. I think this connects to NCI’s mission because I am learning about relevant topics and gaining valuable skills that will be helpful in my goal of pursuing a career in U.S. foreign policy.
That being said, my first week was super busy. My first day started with an orientation, and then I started working immediately afterwards. Not only did I become familiar with my office, but I completed a few projects. I greatly enjoyed this work because I felt like I was directly contributing to the work that the State Department does. I also gained knowledge about important topics I had not previously known about, such as cybersecurity.
On another note, I quickly developed relationships with the other interns as well as the people who work in my office, and I truly enjoy working with them. My supervisors really want me to get as much as I can out of the internship, and they work with me to ensure that I am pursuing my own interests through my responsibilities. Honestly, I could not ask for a better work environment as an intern.
I can only hope that the rest of the summer goes as well as the past two weeks have! I expect to keep learning more about new topics and enhancing my communication skills through developing my professional relationships and networking.
As I mentioned earlier, I would be happy to hear from anyone who might be interested in an internship at State, but essentially, I secured my internship by completing an application entirely online. The application components included a manually entered resume, an unofficial transcript, and a short personal statement. However, the way in which I secured this internship was slightly atypical, since most internships are found through networking. My advice to anyone seeking an internship in general would be to utilize all of your connections, even if you don’t think you have any. Trust me, you have more than you think.
Me (on the right) loving DC!!
*NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency of the U.S. government.