Carolyn Downs
How to Make the Most of the Semester
Carolyn Downs
Fall 2015
My semester in Washington, DC has taught me more than I could have imagined. Some of which I would like to share. My advice may be generic, but I believe that it cannot be stressed enough.
First, be an awesome intern. This means talking to people and doing work for others in the office. It means dressing professionally and knowing your place in the office. It means working late if necessary; I even worked on occasional Fridays.
Second, talk to people. Really. If you want a job in DC, you need to know people in DC. Everyone I talked to has their current job because someone they knew was willing to put in a good word for them. You want people to know you and to know that you work hard.
Third, say yes to every opportunity you’re given while in DC. You’re going to be tired, and yes, you will have homework to do, but say yes anyway. You are only in DC for one semester and trust me when I say that you deserve a break sometimes. If your supervisor invites you to happy hour, say yes. If someone wants to get coffee, say yes. If your work asks you to help with an event after hours, say yes. Walter and the other professors understand that you are here to learn and work, and they will be forgiving to a certain extent if you have events for work.
Carolyn visited the White House on an intern excursion organized by her office.
Finally, talk to Walter and Pete. They are more than happy to sit down with you and talk about anything that is on your mind. They are amazing resources; they know DC, the culture, the restaurants, the free events, and they can help you if you’re having trouble in any way. Pete has an incredible working knowledge of the food scene in DC and has a wealth of experience in politics. Walter can help you with everything from navigating a job search, a change in your interests, to issues at your internship. Also, talk to the professors because they are incredibly willing to work with you on everything from papers and class material to how they got to where they are in their careers.
Throughout the semester in DC, I found out that what everyone told me about people in DC was true: people are more than willing to help you. I am not an extraordinarily outgoing person, and the thought of networking makes me cringe. During orientation, I spoke to Pete about working around my introvert tendencies, and what he told me stuck with me for the rest of the semester: fake it until you make it. However, after a month or so at my office, I found that I wasn’t faking it anymore; I truly enjoyed talking to the people in my office, helping others out with different projects, and even asking them to coffee.
People are happy to help you find your way, whether in terms of what you want to do with your future, if you’re searching for a job, or if you want advice of any sort. Talk to people in your office. It may be uncomfortable, but introduce yourself. It really does make a difference in how people see you. I was lucky to be able to settle into my office easily, and I discovered that people love to talk to the interns. I also found that people want to help you because they were interns too. My office was young and the people I interacted with the most were interns two or three years ago. Every office is different; I was lucky enough to be in a friendly office with people who love their work.
My semester in DC flew by faster than I can say because it was easily my favorite semester at BU. Be proactive and take what you want out of the experience.
Carolyn Downs is a senior studying political science.
