Monday
We started off our programming today, like we have the past couple of weeks, with breakfast from Panera. I may or may not have snagged two muffins because I forgot to make a lunch that morning. After this we went into our GW seminar. In the seminar we covered misinformation and disinformation that comes from Spanish language media and social media. I believe that this is very common, because there are times that my family shows me something they saw online and I have had to tell them that it is not real. For the CHCI programming portion we covered peer coaching, had an advisory board member chat, and had a senior staff panel & breakouts with them after. I always like to hear about people's different backgrounds and how they got to where they are now. At the end, we received some reminders about upcoming events from Cristian and then we were free to leave.
Tom Vilsack for President
Tuesday
Before I went in to work on Today I had the chance of going to NPR, National Public Radio, to meet a reporter from Idaho. Her name is Ximena Bustillo, and she is from Nampa, ID. She started off in the Idaho Statesman and is now covering news coming out of the White House and congress. I thought it was funny that I was just learning about media and the publics opinion on it yesterday and I was talking to someone that is in that area the next day. After talking to her, she showed us where the Tiny Desk podcast takes place. It was cool to see all the different things that guests leave after being on the podcast. At work I got to sit in a couple of meetings. One was a management meeting for the Deputy Secretary where she met with different offices to inform her on what was going on in the department and what everyone can do to help each other. The other was a scheduling meeting to figure out what events and meetings the Deputy Secretary could attend. I also analyzed different memos in class with Neha. After work I attended the annual tri-caucus internship reception hosted by APAICS, which is the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies. We got to meet interns from APAICS and CBCF, which is the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
My Guy Bernie Sanders
Wednesday
I only went in to work today for about two hours and during those two hours I mostly did research on the USDA program I am aiming to improve for Neha's final project for us. The reason I only went in for two hours was because I had to go help at the Capitol for CHCI's Next Gen Program. CHCI brings in high schoolers from around the country to get to know DC and introduce them to this world of politics. The kids were split into groups based off where they were from. Mine had students from California, Idaho, and Oregon. The girl from Idaho was from Caldwell and knew someone I know from U of I.
Throughout the day we took the students to different meetings with different senators, they had pictures in front of the capitol, we took them on a tour of the capitol, and lastly we took them to a senate hearing. At that senate hearing a member from Washington was talking about abortion. Halfway through the hearing, Bernie Sanders popped in out of nowhere and came in and sat for a couple of minutes and then left. That was probably the highlight of my day because I hold Bernie pretty highly. We got to know the kids and I think they had a pretty good day. The first photo is from Senator Merkley's office from Oregon, and he had a map of Oregon that had Weiser on it. The second is in the Hart building and the last is the train that gets people from the Capitol to other buildings.
"Don't plan for things, be prepared for them"
Thursday
I started my day with a one-on-one with Bryan Brovo. He is a special assistant in the Office of Congressional Relations. We discussed his role and what he does. He is the middleman between the department and members. They discuss programs, funds and cuts. He also gave me advice on my future endeavors. Throughout the day I worked on my project for Neha and sat in meetings. However, the highlight of my day was definitely meeting the Secretary of the USDA, Tom Vilsack. I got to ask him a question about how they promote their programs and things they do because there are so many people that are not aware of the benefits they can receive from the USDA. He spoke to us more about the USDA and gave us some advice as well. He said something that really stuck with me and that is what the title of this day is. (The following photos are from Wednesday night, I did not take any pictures on Thursday).
End of the work week
Friday
The last day of the work week is always pretty slow. I started my day with a 9:00 AM meeting with the office of the Deputy Secretary. They talked about meetings and events she had to attend. What the office mostly does is scheduling for meetings/events and preparing the Deputy for these meetings/events. For most of the day I worked on my project, but I also helped Russellie keep track of emails from people notifying her that they have signed up for a training that is occurring next week. I got to go to the Farmers Market for lunch which is always a plus. After work I did not do much, I went on a run and prepared for my trip to New York the next day.
New York is not for the weak
Saturday
My day started at 1:30 AM this morning. A group of us planned a day trip to New York. We took a bus and arrived in New York around 7:00 AM, at this time we were discouraged about the day because it was very rainy outside. We went to get some bagels and coffee and we waited out the rain. After this we decided to check out the Empire State Building and then we made our way to the subway. I thought it was pretty cool and honestly easier to use then the Metro here in DC. We tried to do as much as we could and we fit it all in. We made our way to lower Manhattan and checked out the 9/11 Memorial, One World Trade Center, Wall Street, and the Charging Bull.
After this we got tickets for a ferry that took us to the bridges, to see the Manhattan skyline, and the Statue of Liberty. After this we made our way to Chinatown to get some food, which was the best Chinese food I have ever had. We did some shopping in Chinatown and then made our way to the Brooklyn Bridge. After walking it we checked out Grand Central Terminal and Central Park. By this time we were exhausted, but we kept going. We had an appointment at the SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, an observatory complex. This was definitely the best part of my day. As of right now, nothing will top being able to the views I saw from up there. Afterwards we went to Times Square and made our way back to the bus. A year ago, I don't think I would have imagined being in New York this summer.
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