This was the first day I went to orientation in person and actually got to meet the cohort of CHCI interns that I would be interacting with throughout the next week! I woke up extra early this first day to make sure that I was "dressed to impress", and made sure I had everything ready to conquer the day. After getting on my suit and leaving for the metro I was able to meet up with the other interns and Patrick as we headed to CHCI's building to meet up with everyone to start our orientation. After arriving and having breakfast, we made our way to the NEA building to actually officially start the day, and from there, the info didn't stop rolling!
We got to meet the CEO and VP of CHCI, and they gave us some amazing words of encouragement. Then, we did a show-and-tell activity across the entire room. Each person brought an item that was special to them and told a story about it to the room. I chose to bring the wallet that my father had gotten me from Mexico, as it is very special to me and I've refused to get a new one ever since! After this, we had a delicious lunch, which was different kinds of sandwiches, and ended the day talking about the intern handbook and getting an insider view of Capitol Hill. This was one of my favorite presentations because it genuinely brought back my curiosity for American politics and made me passionate about how I can help the nation through political action!
After ending the day at orientation, the other interns and I made our way over to a networking lunch where several of the people from the offices that we will be interning at would be arriving. We were able to get to know some of the people from HEP/CAMP and how the internship program came to be. I'm so grateful for being able to recognize and meet them all because they all have a passion for helping others, and getting to be in the same space as that passion only made me more excited for the weeks to come!
