Washington and State in the Spring

The end of this semester marks a new page in my Dickinson career; I am going to study in Washington D.C. for the semester under The Washington Center program. While in D.C. I work an internship full time as well as take one class a week. I am going to be interning at the Department of State in the IO Bureau and I am more than pumped. I finally get to (hopefully) handle diplomacy and see how the process works first hand. I've been in far too many classes which explain the structure of diplomacy; now I get to help implement it.

I don't actually know what Ill be doing at my position just yet. Though I'll probably not going to be the guy who gets Sec. Clinton coffee, I will definitely not be exposed to any top-secret stuff. However I am really excited about looking over documents, sitting in on meetings, and just getting to know the people who work on multilateral diplomacy. I have a strong feeling that these "bureaucrats" are not as evil as some politicians make them out to be...

Another thing I am excited about is getting to know the city. I know wherever I need to in New York, so I assume D.C. may not be as difficult. That's just an assumption, however. I'll have to learn train and shuttle schedules as well as shops and places in the area. Not to mention restaurants and entertainment too. Essentially, I am starting over.

But that's the best part.

Being a city where I eventually want to make a career, learning my way around is definitely one of the things I am looking forward to. Its an empowering experience to know that you're in control of what you want to do and where you want to take your life. Being at TWC and State is just the first step, and an important  one, to my life goals.


Will I learn a lot? Yes. Will I have while doing it? Definitely. These are the times we never forget.

Harry S. Truman Building aka The State Department