This summer I got a taste of what the real world will be like for me after I graduate in December. I spent the last few months in Washington, D.C., interning at the Feminist Majority Foundation and learning the ropes of the non-profit world. Not only was I able to experience D.C. as a resident instead of a tourist, I also got some great experience and gained a lot of knowledge about my trade.

Of course I did the entirely typical busy work, like data entry, answering phones and what not.

But I also was able to work on some of FMF’s campaigns, like the Afghan Women and Children Campaign and preparing for the Women, Money and Power Summit in October.

I protested CVS in Dupont Circle and a few other interns and I counterprotested in front of Nancy Pelosi’s office when a very right-wing, anti-choice group paraded through and outside her building. I even got to see the confirmation of Chief Justice Sonia Sotomayor firsthand.

I researched and wrote for feminist.org about global humanitarian issues and was able to learn some new techniques and practice my writing. For five days a week for two and half months I worked for this organization, learning more about government and legislation than I ever have before, all the while working towards a greater good.

Although my days were almost always filled with researching, blogging, etc. I still got to experience the city and the nightlife like a resident and not a tourist.

Of course I had responsibilities and pretty much a nine-to-five job, but being a 22-year-old college student made the nightlife definitely a memorable part of my summer internship experience.

D.C. has a vibrant and ethnic nightlife, from Ethiopian restaurants to British invasion tattoo parlors; I was not in Johnson City anymore. This city is a political Mecca, and when Obama was speaking at a non-profit across the street and the Secret Service were on the rooftops, my supervisor explained that this was D.C. and this happens … a lot.

After my initial glimpse of political celebrity, I was again star struck when I saw John Oliver, the D.C. correspondent from The Daily Show. The district did not disappoint when it came to fun nights and memorable experiences.

I cannot stress enough how important I believe this internship is going to be for my future. The skills that I gained just from these quick few months are going give me a leg up after graduation in December.

Before this internship, I was absolutely technologically ignorant, now I blog, I tweet, I network.

The options are endless and the doors are beginning to open. I am saddened that internships are not pushed more at ETSU, the first hand experience I gained was worth every bit of the work.

As I begin to finish at ETSU, if I could leave any advice it would be that students should apply to internships in their field of interest.

Good luck!

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