Tuesday July 23rd, 2024
This morning at the office I worked on getting my blog post for CHCI completed which is focused on endocrine disrupting chemicals and the disparate impact they pose to Latinos. I spent the majority of the day researching various studies detailing and breaking down how these chemicals do harm to the human body. At the same time, I was looking into the way Latinos were disproportionately affected by these chemicals. By the end of the day, I had gathered sufficient evidence and supporting data to be able to create a strong blog post, but this had to wait as I had a very important matter to attend to; my CHCI graduation! I left work early to be able to make it to the reception on time, and after I got there I was able to meet up with a few of the other HEP/CAMP interns as well! We mingled with guests as they walked in before the event started. After beautiful speeches, inspiring commendations, and many, many, photos, we had completed the graduation ceremony! As much as I was happy about the event, my focus was on finishing the first draft of the blog post before the next day. This was because I wanted it to get proofread by people in my office so that I could get feedback to improve it! As I typed away at home, the light outside faded away with every sentence. Then, eventually, I decided that it would be a good idea to get some sleep.
Wednesday July 24th, 2024
This was a very bittersweet day at the office, because I was saying goodbye to some of the most amazing people that I could have ever met. Our office was having a going away party in honor of the interns who were leaving, and as we ate our Dominican food, people gave heartfelt speeches to the room. As tears shed and hugs were given, I couldn't help but feel the heaviness of the situation. It seemed like both a lifetime and a second had passed by during this summer, and I got to have one of the most amazing experiences that I will ever probably have. To those who were leaving, I felt very sad as we ate our final meal together, but happy at the thought that we were able to do it one last time. I stayed late at the office today because I was so focused on my paper. It was really late when I left the office, and my supervisor invited me to get some crepes at a place that closed relatively late. They were some of the most amazing crepes that I had ever had, and the conversations we had as we ate were even better. As I got home exhausted, it felt like a day that lasted a lot longer that just 24 hours, but also seemed to end in a mere moment.
Thursday July 25th, 2024
CHCI hosts high school students every year as part of their Next-Gen program, and we were fortunate enough to be able to give a group of these aspiring young people a tour of The Capital! We started off with a hectic lunch in Rayburn, then walked to a different building to meet with California representatives who, sadly, were mostly not in their offices as they were flying out that same day. We were still able to give them a very good experience regardless of the hiccups, and besides the meet and greets, my favorite part about the day was getting to know the students themselves. They each had their own amazing interests and goals and asked very good questions. Whether they were about college, working in D.C., or just life in general, my partner Luna and I were able to give them some clarity about what they wanted to know. By the end of the day we were all exhausted, but had an amazing time! After dropping them off at the bus, we made our way home where I then worked on my blog post until I fell asleep!
Friday July 26th, 2024
Today was casual Friday, and as I got to the office I was adamant about finishing up the final draft of my blog post! I got to work editing and re-writing everything that had been recommended to me by my supervisor and friends! I was able to get it done before the end of the day, and by this point we were having another session of a espejos and ventanas event that my supervisor was piloting at the office. After this was wrapped up, I stayed a bit after the end of the day because I wanted to get a chance to hang out with the interns who were leaving since I wouldn't get to see them again! Then I got home after completing what I needed to do for the day and went to sleep!
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