tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466665900282563542024-03-13T12:42:55.936-05:00The Washington Center Internship ProgramRogers State Universityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07054433162245526364noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-56345401512198745402014-07-15T09:59:00.002-05:002014-07-15T10:04:04.947-05:00Sec. 01-03. A Breath Taking, Dazzling and Crowded Independence Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw6REr9zfLX_0TIyurYyBS09LzlpJI4C3LxW7vV4fuW80_BhyX443WAOjTRjrTG4wLzRvGr1aUCq9sZKk4PKg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t34.0-12/10528177_10152772295509505_1257346089_n.jpg?oh=c0496851c640ab0a0ccc6e9f1eca7531&oe=53C7A091&__gda__=1405561788_0ec9926d3a66906a54244058e7594b04" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t34.0-12/10528177_10152772295509505_1257346089_n.jpg?oh=c0496851c640ab0a0ccc6e9f1eca7531&oe=53C7A091&__gda__=1405561788_0ec9926d3a66906a54244058e7594b04" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Washington D.C. is
an awesome place to watch the Independence Day firework show. I am glad I was
able to witness the scenery, as the fireworks lavished the nation’s capital
over the Washington monument. The anticipation leading up to this historical
event was stimulating; everyone insisted that there is no place like D.C. on
Fourth of July. Well they were right. It definitely lived up to the
expectations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">I
started out the day very relaxed and had lunch with a mentor while we watched
the world cup quarterfinals between France and Germany. Later that day we went
to a local Thai restaurant and it was my first time eating Thai food. It was
amazing. While at dinner, we enjoyed the final world cup quarterfinals game of the
day between Brazil and South American who are rivals of Columbia. This game was
a blast and it was intense and emotional. The tournament MVP James Rodriguez heroic
performance for Columbia was over, and the home team star Neymar broke a
vertebra in his back during the game, which also put an end to his presence in
the tournament. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t34.0-12/10508454_10152772297569505_30484707_n.jpg?oh=aeab274af18590e1ecbae30bd7a2fd1e&oe=53C7467D&__gda__=1405573277_b44bde960723ddc41ac1f0b349ee806e" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t34.0-12/10508454_10152772297569505_30484707_n.jpg?oh=aeab274af18590e1ecbae30bd7a2fd1e&oe=53C7467D&__gda__=1405573277_b44bde960723ddc41ac1f0b349ee806e" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t34.0-12/10534570_10152772296699505_1705560509_n.jpg?oh=b0284a9187665b534450348cc1c95dac&oe=53C7903E&__gda__=1405590319_fc58cc58366393b570faddb84f6b9f69" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t34.0-12/10534570_10152772296699505_1705560509_n.jpg?oh=b0284a9187665b534450348cc1c95dac&oe=53C7903E&__gda__=1405590319_fc58cc58366393b570faddb84f6b9f69" width="240" /></a><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t34.0-12/10534570_10152772296699505_1705560509_n.jpg?oh=b0284a9187665b534450348cc1c95dac&oe=53C7903E&__gda__=1405590319_fc58cc58366393b570faddb84f6b9f69" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: Courier New;">This
is my third time celebrating July 4</span><sup style="font-family: 'Courier New';">th </sup><span style="font-family: Courier New;">in America even though I am
Jamaican. I am accustomed to spending the fourth with my family in Long Island,
New York and our style of celebrating is family barbecuing, dominoes, and family
games. Then in the evening, we would gather in my uncle’s living room to watch
the firework events going on in New York City. Nothing beats spending time with
family, but the dazzling combination of the crowd and the Fireworks display, momentarily
filled that void. Being in D.C. for Independence Day gives a distinct feeling, which
translates into a more meaningful Fourth of July experience. Thousands of
people gathered the streets with the same enthusiasm, as I watched the
launching of the fireworks. The experience went beyond what I had imagined. Watching
the show at the national mall as the dazzling fireworks shoot right over the
Washington monument was a sight of perfection. The combination of the people, the
vibrant dazzling colors and sounds of the fireworks lit up the entire city.
This Fourth of July was special, breath taking and defiantly an experience I
will treasure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11499165755093504696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-89994406849991242042014-06-28T19:20:00.003-05:002014-06-29T22:30:17.332-05:00Sec. 01-02. The Wait Is Over <div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #EFEFEF; line-height: 13.2pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Investigative Interns for the Maryland County Office Of The Public Defender</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve waited a long time to be in the position I’m
currently in. I didn’t know going into the end of my junior year I would
actually be in Washington, DC and interning at the Montgomery County’s office
Public Defenders. So you may ask, what have you been waiting for waiting for? I
waited for an opportunity, like working for Office of the Public Defender, so I
can learn how to be a better student, professional, set higher standards for
myself and create a network with people who can aid in my transformation. That
long wait molded me for what the nation’s capital has to offer.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> For the past two weeks I haven’t been able to blog
because I've been investing my time settling into my internship
site. Firstly, I had to go through what is known as, Informational
Investigative Training. The training prepped us for the role and responsibility
of an investigator and the challenges we will encounter on a day-to-day basis.
What I love the most, as an investigator, is that my work is valued. The
Office of Public Defender utilizes their interns to limit the need of outside
paid investigators. The job entails taking witness statements, writing legal
documents like subpoenas, and being ready for any other request by an attorney.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> After going through a long week of training, I am
now working hand in hand with attorneys on their cases. The subpoenas that I
write are used to acquire evidentiary documents or for an individuals to appear
in court. The ability to speak Spanish extends the range of cases and attorneys
I work with. I’m allowed to interview clients and witnesses in Spanish to get
their statements. I also aid in conversations between clients and
attorneys by interpret Spanish to English and vice versa. Lastly, I
strategically analyze jail calls, email, text messages, 911 calls, and
surveillance videos, like police interrogation, for evidence that may
self-incriminate, or support our clients. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> With two weeks and counting, I have not had a dull
day at the office. Working with the public defenders keeps me fascinated and I
get the privilege to influence people’s lives on a daily basis. So far, this
has been a fruitful experience. I’m able to use the skills and knowledge I've
acquired thus far in my college and personal experiences to excel. What else
would you say is rewarding? Not only am I gaining new skills on top of what I
already knew, I am also strengthening my previous skills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11499165755093504696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-14113949547855594182014-06-04T01:30:00.004-05:002014-06-04T01:35:14.083-05:00Sec. 01-01. A Pleasure and A Blessing All In One<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-indent: 0.5in;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uA1qxkPc1f0S0g_Zb8HNLGwdIbow9zziACEfJqMudOKJbpdAqLx7FoGga9Hn30xNCwhYA7dvvg_ZhK-olbJl8y18Lz2lKQhQccpi3jWrBP00yLUEU8E5-Zkw6df5IwoYu2NrW66hT44/s1600/1401552196559%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uA1qxkPc1f0S0g_Zb8HNLGwdIbow9zziACEfJqMudOKJbpdAqLx7FoGga9Hn30xNCwhYA7dvvg_ZhK-olbJl8y18Lz2lKQhQccpi3jWrBP00yLUEU8E5-Zkw6df5IwoYu2NrW66hT44/s1600/1401552196559%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My team for Scavenger Hunt </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Hello, my name is Necas Collins and I would
like to start out by saying, I am here all the way from, Claremore</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">, OK to
represent Rogers State University and myself. Thus far, my journey in
Washington, DC, has been a pleasure and a blessing all in one.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">I am honored to be the first student athlete
from my university to receive this prestigious scholarship to attend the
Washington Center Academic Program, while interning at the Montgomery Public
Defender’s Office. The opportunity presented, has been one of the best academic
accomplishment in my life thus far. The Washington Center focuses on the transformation
of students into professional leaders of tomorrow’s world. I have it in my
intentions to mimic a sponge and absorb as much knowledge and understanding as
capable. I am sure this will be a life changing experience as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGkwjS6u_c4Pb1T0wDNfFQOvAab_h0Z0bPG-gIOJUvVpwATTbOlGIW9s51qWneIQdQcM-lwtVnkJhcWMiH4-kptIFT1bGMEopBXpXF_4iXGQIOR_z4NdfG7KDLAFqBr3v6Fh4qja8zlg/s1600/1400553677133%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGkwjS6u_c4Pb1T0wDNfFQOvAab_h0Z0bPG-gIOJUvVpwATTbOlGIW9s51qWneIQdQcM-lwtVnkJhcWMiH4-kptIFT1bGMEopBXpXF_4iXGQIOR_z4NdfG7KDLAFqBr3v6Fh4qja8zlg/s1600/1400553677133%5B1%5D.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryant Park<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-agNpYLXx8-f87OSE_DY-3KI4tdDCtkmW7nTtQ7MSrW5zXuii8yaKFBHYyBcS5dqCQq4cc2TXilpzSom-Rxg1VZh1HahuPmauqdV5Vb4_rvH_NiGTjSSzWN63j6SrXsWIC6dqT3kN2Qs/s1600/1400619229500%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-agNpYLXx8-f87OSE_DY-3KI4tdDCtkmW7nTtQ7MSrW5zXuii8yaKFBHYyBcS5dqCQq4cc2TXilpzSom-Rxg1VZh1HahuPmauqdV5Vb4_rvH_NiGTjSSzWN63j6SrXsWIC6dqT3kN2Qs/s1600/1400619229500%5B1%5D.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
34th and 7 AVE</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";"> Prior to my arrival in The Nation’s
Capital, I had the privilege to spend two weeks in New York City with family
members, while preparing for my summer internship program. I also had the
opportunity to venture into the city of Manhattan to experience some of its
magnificent sceneries. The skyscraper, bright lights, activities, and the relentless
bustle of people will astonish anyone. My last day was spent in Central Park,
which is one of my favorites.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';"> I left New York City on the 28th of May and
an embarked on this journey starting with a four and ½ hour drive.
Unfortunately, it was extended into a five and ½ hour drive because of a heavy
downpour of rain. Upon arriving at The Washington Center, I checked into my
room, unpacked my luggage, and met my roommates. So far, my roommate is
welcoming. Together, will be working at the Montgomery District Court for the
Public Defender’s office, we also will be taking the same class while we are
here.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAw3wyUSSr0M2HKxpZVHybjzBMXNuCf8ClLx0qiWi9-SSWX-4twzFMUfIMolD2XN82VrKWGSQ7c0rlc0hdRj8tVpo-C_V5Do4qtYJOu-9C7gcw3WpLbPhTtefuW9kSsZWYTpz-rr80ys/s1600/Capitol+Building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAw3wyUSSr0M2HKxpZVHybjzBMXNuCf8ClLx0qiWi9-SSWX-4twzFMUfIMolD2XN82VrKWGSQ7c0rlc0hdRj8tVpo-C_V5Do4qtYJOu-9C7gcw3WpLbPhTtefuW9kSsZWYTpz-rr80ys/s1600/Capitol+Building.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">United States Capitol Building<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKCslceZ1a8h4UYnLZWNQs3Dtxi86VhEZNhf8D3NDaW_66Q58ZHJ5lQrFXUbXDGNl94ibrSUvgbohl99n_QNoJcW9-Rzj8v39ntw4pPtD04VNPukkyZn8qhD5Mt72EyWKQYFscDCvTR8/s1600/IMG_20140530_114433_631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKCslceZ1a8h4UYnLZWNQs3Dtxi86VhEZNhf8D3NDaW_66Q58ZHJ5lQrFXUbXDGNl94ibrSUvgbohl99n_QNoJcW9-Rzj8v39ntw4pPtD04VNPukkyZn8qhD5Mt72EyWKQYFscDCvTR8/s1600/IMG_20140530_114433_631.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Museum of Natural Hisory</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">On Thursday after my orientation, my roommate
and I took a 15min run to the White House, the United States Capitol building,
and back to our apartment. On Friday, I had met students who are law and criminal
justice majors in the program. Together we had to partake in a scavenger hunt
in the city; this hunt had us all over the capital from searching for
historical locations to Museums, my adviser used this as a strategy for us to get familiar
with the city we will call home for the next ten weeks. My group and I took full
advantage of the hunt; we went to visit Smithsonian Museum of Natural History,
National capitol, and other Historical sites in the city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; text-indent: 0.5in;">On Saturday my roommate and I, along with
other students did a “dry run” to familiarize ourselves with the area we will
be interning. We wanted to be prepared and have an idea of our trip beforehand
to prevent any complications. Overall, the commute is about 45 minutes long. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; text-indent: 0.5in;">On
Sunday a couple colleagues and I, took a trip to the Billy Goat Trail for a
Hiking experience, the scenery was glorious. This was one of the first times I
went hiking and it was a great experience. Even though it was great, it was not
easy going through the trail. When I reflect back on my purpose for being here,
I can relate it to the hike. I have new surroundings; everything is glorious;
the task to complete will not be easy, but the task will be completed as long
as I persevere. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxiWdX6n0hq554X4vKgr9CV0CLTSDrDXB9lMBVmNzT8QSSEfeTF5D1f3thG_YQc_hsH4mLFwaeUI0jh7OOirFsEtMmovwzLwA2lORIfmFIv-vkqIjUA1H6-J62xtQ1X5dMJGygafIFEk/s1600/IMG_20140530_105745_347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxiWdX6n0hq554X4vKgr9CV0CLTSDrDXB9lMBVmNzT8QSSEfeTF5D1f3thG_YQc_hsH4mLFwaeUI0jh7OOirFsEtMmovwzLwA2lORIfmFIv-vkqIjUA1H6-J62xtQ1X5dMJGygafIFEk/s1600/IMG_20140530_105745_347.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;">Darlington Memorial Fountain - Judiciary Square<br />
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Images Captured at the Museum Of Natural History<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6sh8pJJ8VUJWWS9z7N2JDCO5yxlBjEpO2CywSxzbxgNgzrTW7VaDtkAhYZQj25bsiN9kzwERvmEVqC9E4_SIus3jTQ2hrnSdr9DwStY336fTbViFHM4ZP1LrZH8k59N3hIbRyERbBmpM/s1600/IMG_20140530_114450_006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6sh8pJJ8VUJWWS9z7N2JDCO5yxlBjEpO2CywSxzbxgNgzrTW7VaDtkAhYZQj25bsiN9kzwERvmEVqC9E4_SIus3jTQ2hrnSdr9DwStY336fTbViFHM4ZP1LrZH8k59N3hIbRyERbBmpM/s1600/IMG_20140530_114450_006.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJbOKy5uVvdlFziRLNcvFHq60PrAlQ6ftclFUyOHtVevaljNQicsaYibOvRxH0U5HoUBd8TZIQ7alLY0ykyByDKFB0Xqg16ge11oSz_3nA5ZXK4Hf5kMYAJ0baKLrarxIFQqLHrKG4rw/s1600/IMG_20140530_114238_652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJbOKy5uVvdlFziRLNcvFHq60PrAlQ6ftclFUyOHtVevaljNQicsaYibOvRxH0U5HoUBd8TZIQ7alLY0ykyByDKFB0Xqg16ge11oSz_3nA5ZXK4Hf5kMYAJ0baKLrarxIFQqLHrKG4rw/s1600/IMG_20140530_114238_652.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1V7U8cphRoeNDblTJI8THqyVhb_KXShMP10hMAnPvPXyc6950hIIyzt0uVphjamKnj9h_lBKHuacNfStMAIQNDdL8BbS5QdkKM9rrDB6jijQFbYHkwR_wsqCyzEFFsYq80L6nwAP2lR4/s1600/IMG_20140530_114211_061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1V7U8cphRoeNDblTJI8THqyVhb_KXShMP10hMAnPvPXyc6950hIIyzt0uVphjamKnj9h_lBKHuacNfStMAIQNDdL8BbS5QdkKM9rrDB6jijQFbYHkwR_wsqCyzEFFsYq80L6nwAP2lR4/s1600/IMG_20140530_114211_061.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNrpzghRWiEM4mMd-azkZkOpz4nMoApa3RsJkKtNl6Vii8JuDCF_Wu_kOgVZ-JMhR7YU-User2aJBJ2VVAzY0cC4rJpyBBHB42_eL3nnJzidgGO6aZN9fYmFMXl83oW6q2afR9mhbPqE/s1600/IMG_20140530_114406_842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNrpzghRWiEM4mMd-azkZkOpz4nMoApa3RsJkKtNl6Vii8JuDCF_Wu_kOgVZ-JMhR7YU-User2aJBJ2VVAzY0cC4rJpyBBHB42_eL3nnJzidgGO6aZN9fYmFMXl83oW6q2afR9mhbPqE/s1600/IMG_20140530_114406_842.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIGRXB4j3lj37jnnqiDxN9F6hNAuhbNklG9kuH5sYMkoog8hdkhhEpjWy6eZDQA-RaeNzZL-pEdeNejxjDQjw779TBrWTkC4n-Spl-xaEESByASHe-v6Pz9NsNT2of5VXnPrGYWT4ckg/s1600/IMG_20140530_114003_970.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIGRXB4j3lj37jnnqiDxN9F6hNAuhbNklG9kuH5sYMkoog8hdkhhEpjWy6eZDQA-RaeNzZL-pEdeNejxjDQjw779TBrWTkC4n-Spl-xaEESByASHe-v6Pz9NsNT2of5VXnPrGYWT4ckg/s1600/IMG_20140530_114003_970.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><br />
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The pictures below was captured during my hiking trip, with an addition of the Washington Monument. </div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">Hiking Trip</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgkxVNIJgJv_iqssY2a5w_Tnn0tE_dSeg1ml6fD95zefynwN7WVyM8OwzShL3wPb1tjn7AO0lbpMnxTn0TaXSQ6bPTSUsoB3oWEC_l3-0uLpkRqtS0MCWWkx4zY_o9dfRddLpLt75b7M/s1600/Billy+Goat+Trail+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgkxVNIJgJv_iqssY2a5w_Tnn0tE_dSeg1ml6fD95zefynwN7WVyM8OwzShL3wPb1tjn7AO0lbpMnxTn0TaXSQ6bPTSUsoB3oWEC_l3-0uLpkRqtS0MCWWkx4zY_o9dfRddLpLt75b7M/s1600/Billy+Goat+Trail+3.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-Z_eTnnfbafXm1dPCsVSeKFED9Nl3JpRkEFSY0tWI9b1mSzFofOQ5yD0Uav7bv7zZo9RJEd10GEdUQDODP9kBspf1XC_pCX5LYCpEX60pT6vTOCD0r3VcVAUmPt2Q8QKi0LliwNczBM/s1600/Washington+center+monument.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-Z_eTnnfbafXm1dPCsVSeKFED9Nl3JpRkEFSY0tWI9b1mSzFofOQ5yD0Uav7bv7zZo9RJEd10GEdUQDODP9kBspf1XC_pCX5LYCpEX60pT6vTOCD0r3VcVAUmPt2Q8QKi0LliwNczBM/s1600/Washington+center+monument.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Washington Monument</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Din4wjJ-62Jfq4VJHLLmxoAbNjYgsly7xdyiIUIwyoRSoQHhE3gFiLTAjmIA8S3dMvlNURhj0toVOsJjnCvpKylE3vXI9K6dkGtYs8BvkPonzN3kMvNDkTmgX2iIdftAst_4dVet78U/s1600/Me+in+the+Billy+Goat+Trail8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Din4wjJ-62Jfq4VJHLLmxoAbNjYgsly7xdyiIUIwyoRSoQHhE3gFiLTAjmIA8S3dMvlNURhj0toVOsJjnCvpKylE3vXI9K6dkGtYs8BvkPonzN3kMvNDkTmgX2iIdftAst_4dVet78U/s1600/Me+in+the+Billy+Goat+Trail8.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The Billy Goat Trail </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEn46457BLbgQtFPdTyGDm7OdJ4dNO-tC4LktiZF-40X2tgd75w45aN3xQ2DuStbfluYvoYnaO6y7Bsye9riQ-Qd46CJDcs7AByH8eCpinODonttD4VnvAsbJhaKTRMQCU5_gzoViFgE/s1600/IMG_20140530_114506_071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11499165755093504696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-56881523191578551212013-08-10T07:56:00.001-05:002013-08-10T07:56:22.421-05:00All Good Things<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7OA3jI-B0kw64KkYU0-ymlnboCVoDaLHpIe1fGJdgD_cS7QQpZ5yeW6XiINEaetDZGL81rG5jjB2kkE4NNIo66UBI-imj8q1MpXdlzMeAcl4MNl_kEMoNOWGUBB9zdI2aHztvFzU3Xzx/s1600/096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7OA3jI-B0kw64KkYU0-ymlnboCVoDaLHpIe1fGJdgD_cS7QQpZ5yeW6XiINEaetDZGL81rG5jjB2kkE4NNIo66UBI-imj8q1MpXdlzMeAcl4MNl_kEMoNOWGUBB9zdI2aHztvFzU3Xzx/s200/096.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team Red, White, and Blue "100 in 100"</td></tr>
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So I'm sitting at a gate in Baltimore-Washington International waiting on a plane to make the first leg of my journey home. I've got mixed feelings towards Delta Airlines at the moment; they contacted me at midnight to tell me that my first flight was pushed back three hours. This would have been news to celebrate if I hadn't already booked a ride with Super Shuttle from my apartment for 3:15 AM. I'll make it to my connecting flight in plenty of time still (there was a lengthy layover in the original itinerary), so I guess it's equally boring waiting out the time no matter which airport I'm at. And Delta offered its apologies through all-you-want cookies, pretzels, and juice here at the gate. It's like going to a blood drive, except there are no terrible needles, just the tasty snacks. Again, mixed feelings, but thee food is much appreciated.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXv2Ih9BYUs4KcJvbuzbOWFozpjs88TWVOEwQLlcDDYY3hOFkEs9qsdv_FPmH9NYQCoq2S_8lrSEvleowVBzHJUjrnm8FlwWyQR-Oisb_8GX6kV9beqJLN_duzzf1ucAHLG7g5HCkiFe4-/s1600/212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXv2Ih9BYUs4KcJvbuzbOWFozpjs88TWVOEwQLlcDDYY3hOFkEs9qsdv_FPmH9NYQCoq2S_8lrSEvleowVBzHJUjrnm8FlwWyQR-Oisb_8GX6kV9beqJLN_duzzf1ucAHLG7g5HCkiFe4-/s200/212.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arlington Cemetery</td></tr>
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But on to the real stuff: a final commentary on D.C. and my experiences here. I must admit, going into the internship and summer, I had no idea how important these 10 weeks would be for my future. As is the way with D.C., I made connections that have opened a number of doors for job opportunities. My internship helped me better understand the career field of emergency management, but it seemed like absolutely everything I participated in gave me new opportunities to network. At an event for my civic engagement project with veterans, I met another young woman who is an engineer in emergency management in the D.C. area. She had some great advice for pursuing a career in the field, and encouraged me to stay in touch as I built my résumé up with more experience and education. The career field is growing rapidly, so there are a lot of positions in both the government and private sector. In sum, I loved my internship because of all that it made possible, as well as the amazing office atmosphere at the Department of Interior. The other projects through the Washington Center made it a truly life-changing experience.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg59r76RM38QjsfOPyhX3Rz5iSdB0A9Tu71uqNNjymJAqlc3RGryPPZeyGtICyGJ8NEmLNmhpdQwNBDFOK73AJKtT1CzbuclCj2fQv0jll7F6zUCUrlEe1fPLTc_QEBlrM4xbjYphWzI8eY/s1600/Braves+at+Nationals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg59r76RM38QjsfOPyhX3Rz5iSdB0A9Tu71uqNNjymJAqlc3RGryPPZeyGtICyGJ8NEmLNmhpdQwNBDFOK73AJKtT1CzbuclCj2fQv0jll7F6zUCUrlEe1fPLTc_QEBlrM4xbjYphWzI8eY/s200/Braves+at+Nationals.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Braves @ Nationals</td></tr>
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Outside of my internship and projects, there was a lot of fun to be had hanging out in and around D.C. One of my classmates from my semester in Wales visited this past week, and we explored Arlington (it was a strikingly large place) and watched the Nationals play the Braves. The game was even more exciting than the all-American pastime typically is; after Harper (a Nationals player) hit a home run, the pitcher pegged him with the ball the next time he was at the plate. Chaos ensued as players from both teams rushed out of the bullpens and dugouts, yelling at each other. The Braves' catcher was physically being held back by a team manager from punching Harper in the face, as Harper cursed the pitcher while standing halfway down the first base line. The game was two parts baseball, one part hockey. Two sports for the price of one and we had a great time sitting back with chili dogs and Dippin' Dots just watching it all play out. The Braves won.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiou3u8XdZdKrECuZv5oOK920HHOVm_sRlTMIB4ezXKYQk5jk9HQUOZtPpjdrwWhu3foF1JnBD2MGy0sU-Q8G2PKqMjXrP4KgEsSJwoxkF2liur2NY3uupiIaUOgjKHOuIXTJWppNBT53BQ/s1600/054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiou3u8XdZdKrECuZv5oOK920HHOVm_sRlTMIB4ezXKYQk5jk9HQUOZtPpjdrwWhu3foF1JnBD2MGy0sU-Q8G2PKqMjXrP4KgEsSJwoxkF2liur2NY3uupiIaUOgjKHOuIXTJWppNBT53BQ/s200/054.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Library of Congress</td></tr>
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So that's about it. I turned in my Capstone portfolio and we had a commencement ceremony at the Washington Center Residential and Academic Facility, I loitered around the Library of Congress a few evenings, and I ate the most random assortment of food the past three days as I finished off what I had left in the pantry and fridge. There were a thousand and one things that made this summer amazing, but the greatest was easily the chance to meet a lot of passionate people who are out to change the world.<br />
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Until next time, D.C. Keep it real inside the Beltway.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-44927081338994220382013-07-28T22:56:00.002-05:002013-07-28T23:03:04.520-05:00A Hitchhiker's Guide to Being an Intern<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GAnVyXX-UdjIJQeQCtRv1V5lqQiIlOkL61YYyCCLWMQ8UUvoLfnHagHq9TuvsHMQW6yHiOPiX_Sfsb55JHhr8eZzBbyTd8MPfJ02OOJ8i2vIlR2k-mYm6wjrbR4UXug9zOZ-SxQ6JD2x/s1600/1374961953212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GAnVyXX-UdjIJQeQCtRv1V5lqQiIlOkL61YYyCCLWMQ8UUvoLfnHagHq9TuvsHMQW6yHiOPiX_Sfsb55JHhr8eZzBbyTd8MPfJ02OOJ8i2vIlR2k-mYm6wjrbR4UXug9zOZ-SxQ6JD2x/s1600/1374961953212.jpg" /></a></div>
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What a crazy busy summer, and it just keeps getting busier
as it gets closer to being over. I’d use the expression a “snowball effect,”
but I can’t bring myself to do it with the stifling heat that’s taken over the
city. It feels like a sauna every time I step outside. Aside from the weather,
D.C. has continued to be absolutely awesome and keeps throwing new stuff at me
each day. My supervisor connected me with the National Park Service and I’ve
had the chance to do some training with them during the work week and I’ll have
the opportunity to do more this fall, thanks to the work of multiple RSU
professors who have helped me with scheduling. The National Park Service has a
lot of sweet government job opportunities in emergency medicine and search and
rescue, which would be a dream job for me. D.C. is a city that’s all about
networking, and I’m finally realizing the importance of making those
connections. I love D.C.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1woSiT1OB3nyV3Znsn5hJmZ63QOz7t2BBAD5yVM9_gwfs_VYCg3-AMeGqxowNF_5WcMTNZe_2rtXuiy2CcnGp0TMVrhKurOLh8W6VxRWluk-FlHz8PPuFHT2Ea9nMFsWRZ-LA1vLQft8/s1600/2013-07-21+07.17.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1woSiT1OB3nyV3Znsn5hJmZ63QOz7t2BBAD5yVM9_gwfs_VYCg3-AMeGqxowNF_5WcMTNZe_2rtXuiy2CcnGp0TMVrhKurOLh8W6VxRWluk-FlHz8PPuFHT2Ea9nMFsWRZ-LA1vLQft8/s200/2013-07-21+07.17.46.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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The internship has been good fun, but some of the best
experiences have been those I’ve had off of the clock lately. Last weekend, I
went with a friend up to Boston to watch the Red Sox play the Yankees at
Fenway. I will venture to say that it is the highlight of my summer here on the
east coast. We also walked the Freedom Trail through Boston, before we headed
down to Philadelphia to see landmarks like Eastern State Penitentiary, Rocky’s Steps, Independence Hall,
and the Liberty Bell. The baseball and the history that surrounded us made it a
great trip, and we finished it off by watching half a dozen episodes of Suits
(the true cherry on top of all the awesome).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLHgW76K0iRfF8I8zcrZGTubOiz7V9Ch90DZ3X5ukBgaJ4QuluYi7mypA9Oqt_cQxh-0lUI4c0qoGeZOLOAeC5JRiPGLsKLW0xJkzjB7tBVFlJKOB5aOjRr_LqJvQT3JQzGvsLw705Ew_/s1600/1374352169876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLHgW76K0iRfF8I8zcrZGTubOiz7V9Ch90DZ3X5ukBgaJ4QuluYi7mypA9Oqt_cQxh-0lUI4c0qoGeZOLOAeC5JRiPGLsKLW0xJkzjB7tBVFlJKOB5aOjRr_LqJvQT3JQzGvsLw705Ew_/s1600/1374352169876.jpg" /></a></div>
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This weekend, I went with a coworker to see the
city of Annapolis and partake of traditional Maryland cuisine: crabs smothered
with Old Bay seasoning. They were delicious. She picked me up from the metro
station and we drove to the old city, and we spent a few hours just roaming the
streets and shopping. They had a pottery shop that was undeniably amazing, and
tons of waterfront stores to explore. When we were done in the town, we went to
a beach on the Chesapeake Bay and swam in the half-salt, half-fresh water
before kicking back to sunbathe. Having missed out on my usual summer at the
lake, it was cool to have some time by the water here on the coast. Today I
worked on a few documents I had to edit and went out with a friend to watch the
new movie <i>Wolverine</i> at a theater in
Chinatown (honestly, “Chinablock” would be more appropriate, it’s a small
area). In all, weekends have been the greatest part of the summer, and that
means a lot considering how cool the internship site and the office are. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ll be back to home sweet home in just under two weeks. My
class has two assignments due tomorrow night, and the Washington Center expects
a finished capstone project from me next Monday. Yayyyy, homework (I hear that
there is this mythical time in the future where I won’t <i>have</i> homework ever again…pshh, it can’t truly exist). The pace is
really picking up in these last few days of the summer. I’ll catch a plane on
the Saturday before classes start and be back in Oklahoma that afternoon. If I’m
not completely zonked out when I get in from my flight, I plan to move in to
the dorms on the same day. We’ll see how that one turns out. I love being busy and
the next couple of weeks promise not to disappoint. I try to keep in mind a
quote that’s been reiterated to me by a great professor: “Don’t panic.” Advice
taken, towel packed.</div>
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<o:p></o:p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-35185346983185092062013-07-12T19:56:00.001-05:002013-07-13T10:51:52.994-05:00Anybody Want a Peanut?<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkHyEqrvFSwdZWQD4_fyxeWWq83wkrK5smV7SF9NfdWvQ3u-q0Y3n5al0u0fxUyDfqQnK4N6IZosTu2xwiQPp3QwTiBevu9bgYglkUFrZW_r5ju6IoMmEK5xpTbyYh11Mbwi-1UMLvsIw/s1600/Mullin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkHyEqrvFSwdZWQD4_fyxeWWq83wkrK5smV7SF9NfdWvQ3u-q0Y3n5al0u0fxUyDfqQnK4N6IZosTu2xwiQPp3QwTiBevu9bgYglkUFrZW_r5ju6IoMmEK5xpTbyYh11Mbwi-1UMLvsIw/s320/Mullin.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Meeting with Congressman Mullin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Fourth of July came and went<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was hot as hell, but time well spent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Watched a parade and fireworks, had a picnic<o:p></o:p></div>
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A few days later I was wretchedly sick.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Didn’t die, so I went to the Archives<o:p></o:p></div>
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Where housed are those which protect liberty and lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Met my congressman and went on a Capital tour,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Saw the Folger Shakespeare Library just moments before.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Following that, the Holocaust Memorial Museum was a somber
place,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Words can never fully express what those walls encase.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m missing home some, but D.C.’s a blast,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Four weeks left, time’s flying by fast.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s to Rogers State, my friends, and all,</div>
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Washington’s great, but I can’t wait for fall!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-89472217746704945962013-06-27T19:47:00.001-05:002013-06-27T20:17:33.559-05:00In Which I Hit a Police Officer in the Head with a Tennis Ball<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3tu3xMpIx5Gffi0_vBJdEdvI2smd_FmS8Kphjc3VHnMIkZNou_7RxB4Ctt14uZOIS2J0KeI7sV2WMGWbhNh8yk6GGIa-I25_a8QL0rMBBa90c0rcZ-G152CJk3h5b3hZQ9ShEnBWBdKs/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3tu3xMpIx5Gffi0_vBJdEdvI2smd_FmS8Kphjc3VHnMIkZNou_7RxB4Ctt14uZOIS2J0KeI7sV2WMGWbhNh8yk6GGIa-I25_a8QL0rMBBa90c0rcZ-G152CJk3h5b3hZQ9ShEnBWBdKs/s200/photo+2.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9MrxrnuPt_eCpylJmB5tq5Y6_SYEcabf0R21cgSisp2Jkidhqebg_rtrB0OU2a1UPB8RZ3WLlnk1dmuR0_l1iZzTb7j3Wj4H1l5o_Q5lqyFxC29CsPoaD4zW9gAZSpgkHI4RyrF3FpAT/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9MrxrnuPt_eCpylJmB5tq5Y6_SYEcabf0R21cgSisp2Jkidhqebg_rtrB0OU2a1UPB8RZ3WLlnk1dmuR0_l1iZzTb7j3Wj4H1l5o_Q5lqyFxC29CsPoaD4zW9gAZSpgkHI4RyrF3FpAT/s200/photo+1.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
So a professor from Rogers told me not to throw anything at anyone while I'm in D.C. Luckily for me, my supervisor at my internship told me otherwise and I got to chunk a lot of stuff at police officers and the horses they were riding. The U.S. Park Police are part of my Department, and they're brushing up on their training and drills before the 4th of July celebrations next week. The past two days, I was sent out to their training stables to be a "demonstrator," and got to throw tennis balls, water bottles, and Frisbees at the officers. They told us to try and get past the shields of the ground officers and peg them if we could. I did. I also got to mock sword fight other demonstrators with wooden canes, shove and be shoved by police shields, and verbally assault the officers. And they let us pet the ponies! <span style="text-align: center;">It was definitely a change of scenery from sitting in the office and writing/editing stuff. The Chevy Suburban we took there and back was one of the dark-tinted government ones, and it was cool to see the tourists rubbernecking as they tried to see if we were part of a motorcade, frantically looking up and down the street we were on. The first time I was at the stables, we made it about three hours before the officers were called out for an emergency in front of the White House.</span><span style="text-align: center;"> I learned today that there was a massive group of protesters who had chained themselves to the White House fence and one guy who jumped it and got tackled by the Secret Service. Park Police went to lend a hand to the Secret Service, and they brought the horses and some bolt cutters to clear the mess up. 'Murica.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-46621162324001200302013-06-23T10:33:00.001-05:002013-06-23T10:35:33.053-05:00Less Narrative, More Full Picture (you know, if you're wanting to figure out if this shindig is something you'd want to do)It's pouring rain outside today, so I figure I should do my dreaded homework and take a break for a blog update. This post is just a short snapshot of what it's like to live and work here. The RSU scholarship to the Washington Center is great, and the Center asks students to complete three major components for their program while here: an 40 hr/week internship, a civic enga<span style="text-align: center;">gement project, and a class at one of their campuses. There are workshops and speakers tucked into various spots of free time throughout the summer, but the main grades come from these three components.</span><br />
<br />
The internship is awesome so far. At this point, I want to give a shout-out to every professor who ever taught me about the intricacies of the English language. That knowledge has been invaluable in the professional field. I edit a lot of massive documents and distill a lot of them down into summaries to present to my supervisors, which has shown me how very useful it can be to study as an English major in college. Since I'm in the Office of Emergency Management, there is a FEMA liaison in our office who takes me to FEMA headquarters to sit in on some really interesting meetings. National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife are both on my floor where I work, and the office of Wildland Fire and the bureau of Indian Affairs are just downstairs. This is cool because they all are majorly involved with disaster response and search and rescue (which I am really interested in). Some of the folks who work in these offices and bureaus have 30+ years of experience saving lives and being <strike>bada </strike> awesome. Now they are working to make policy that gets the government in step with what's happening on the ground. On top of all that, my coworkers and I get to celebrate Sushi Fridays and have random happy hours throughout the week. 'Tis quite fun.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nzgEgHjQ4YFSGgQiW5yRT3J2WTMZxZC1qFC9gvjSX9UK9TVpaRuAvLarI-gkE5HydBL1AuBptph4DgDp6Oa05lTYyip185H1IdVZOpX5SLdiJTKrlJiJHJjSyN_ihLIGOZ_kZcN-CWpK/s1600/department_of_interior_building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nzgEgHjQ4YFSGgQiW5yRT3J2WTMZxZC1qFC9gvjSX9UK9TVpaRuAvLarI-gkE5HydBL1AuBptph4DgDp6Oa05lTYyip185H1IdVZOpX5SLdiJTKrlJiJHJjSyN_ihLIGOZ_kZcN-CWpK/s400/department_of_interior_building.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Department of Interior Main Building</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The civic engagement project with Veterans Affairs is equally awesome. Our coordinators give the students a list of events to participate in each week, and I get to pick the ones that sound most interesting. My favorite so far has been visiting memorials with veterans, which is possible through a program called Honor Flight Network (seriously, feel free to break from reading the blog at this point to Google it). There are some really amazing stories that you get to hear from veterans while hanging out with them, and it makes you appreciate just how much was sacrificed for the freedoms we enjoy today. The other event that I love to do with the project is a Wednesday night run with Team Red, White, and Blue. There are a lot of veterans that aren't much older than I am and we run, walk, and talk for three miles. Thank God for the walking part, because I know they'd be shipping a casket back to Oklahoma if I tried to run three miles at a veteran's pace. It's as much a social event as it is exercise, and everyone there has a great time.<br />
<br />
The last component of my grade for the Washington Center is my class, a three hour ordeal every Monday night. It's labeled "Strategic Communications" but somehow I managed to work my way into another English class. A majority of the class is spent in analysis of different articles and a presentation of the ideas and motives that the articles express. We are required to give oral presentations and frame our own messages on a mock project each class, but most of it is centered on analysis and succinct writing. Again, I'm surprised by how useful it is to have a Liberal Arts English background in the professional field. And the class isn't that terrible, it's just on a Monday. At night. For three hours. Meh.<br />
<br />
So other than Mondays being exceedingly long and arduous days, the whole experience is wickedly cool. I love my internship placement and the civic engagement project I got to pick, and the class is good. My roommates aren't scary, the housing is great, and D.C. is an amazing city to live in. The best part is making new connections with people who are shakers and movers and knowing that, if I can stand out, I'll get to be that sort of influence on the world too, someday soon.<br />
<br />
And that's what you get out of just the first three weeks.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-86383956882957869342013-06-11T21:48:00.000-05:002013-06-11T21:53:09.840-05:00Batman, Bicycles, and Billionaires <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPUEBj7OJ0UmEcOROR3obv-9TNoXNTf8pgdrqCaooGlp5QQHDotdl_xxtV1VSOgFjN-rk6oDvj0h65TYrSEBmWeVbu-sylh-jjkyyh85XReC7rgJeWlRFhrM1KurnLN2oAGsuPn4Tsz7J/s1600/D.C.+Jefferson+Memorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPUEBj7OJ0UmEcOROR3obv-9TNoXNTf8pgdrqCaooGlp5QQHDotdl_xxtV1VSOgFjN-rk6oDvj0h65TYrSEBmWeVbu-sylh-jjkyyh85XReC7rgJeWlRFhrM1KurnLN2oAGsuPn4Tsz7J/s200/D.C.+Jefferson+Memorial.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Jefferson Memorial</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"You go to L.A. for fame, go to NYC for money, go to D.C. for power" were the first words of advice (or maybe warning) I heard at my internship site from a coworker, who is a D.C. local. I'm not feeling especially power-hungry today, but I can see where he was coming from with his assessment of the city. Everyone networks here. Everyone wants to know who you are, what you do, and to build a connection with you that might be useful for future opportunities. Business cards... business cards everywhere! And people on bikes. They're everywhere too. But yeah. So my first impressions of D.C. are that it's pretty small as far as big cities go; again, people are on bikes because most places aren't more than a few miles - at most, 10 - apart. People are friendly and typically dressed professionally (which makes sense given the city they're in), it's pretty humid and rains quite a bit, and you can't throw a rock without hitting a memorial or monument of some sort. On that note, I toured the National Mall with an RSU alumnus last Friday, who prefers not to be named but simply referred to here as "Batman." So Batman and I biked around and dodged tourists while seeing some of America's greatest memorials and monuments. The architecture and design of some of the memorials is breathtaking. I'm part of a civic engagement project that will be working with veterans and involve visiting the monuments, so that's cool and should be pretty fun. The Department of the Interior, where I'm interning, is across the street from the National Mall. It makes it easy if I want to go sightseeing after work, but I've already developed a distinct dislike of some tourists. They are everywhere and a select few of them are terrible. Honestly, I've never visited a new city or country and wandered into the streets while looking down at a map, dragging along a family of five, and backing traffic up for three blocks as I stand there absolutely clueless. True story. So the location has its ups and downs. One of the few days I've ridden my bike to and from work (biking in the rain really ruins any chance my hair has of <i>not </i>looking like Mufasa when I get into the office), I stopped after work to check out some monuments and had to pull out a map to figure out how to get back home.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewsVv-cdO1g9WZ9PNVETkTGX2CjeNO8vrQFklpwPY9CHhZ7xSYFB5HoQm_6DGr_y8Tp3BTtp5XkKYG51Ymo4ZI2WruqvfrszfYX67NeMBMUENt1b8yC6ua77pEsOveAzfV1wB68ekJ-2v/s1600/D.C.+Bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewsVv-cdO1g9WZ9PNVETkTGX2CjeNO8vrQFklpwPY9CHhZ7xSYFB5HoQm_6DGr_y8Tp3BTtp5XkKYG51Ymo4ZI2WruqvfrszfYX67NeMBMUENt1b8yC6ua77pEsOveAzfV1wB68ekJ-2v/s200/D.C.+Bike.jpg" title="The Summer Chariot" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">My Noble Steed for the Summer Term</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another cyclist stopped to help me out, and we started talking about what we both were doing in D.C., which is what everyone in the city does. I talked in length about my internship and RSU, and the cyclist told me that he worked on K Street with an international trade company. He was quiet and helpful, pointing me in the right direction. We traded business cards and I went on my way. After I got back, I Google-searched the company (of course). The man was the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company. It was like figuring out that I'd met Tony Stark on the street and just thought he was a mechanic. Feeling like a total dweeb, I took it to heart to make the best impression I can with every person I swap business cards with whilst here. Who knows, maybe I'll run into Clark Kent next week? Until then, I'll network and marathon <i>Dr. Who</i> with Batman.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-23807288981204941212013-05-13T18:57:00.002-05:002013-05-13T18:57:25.360-05:00My final blog
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May 6<sup>th</sup>- May 11<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It seems so odd that this will be my last DC blog. I have
really enjoyed writing these! It has been a great way for me to debrief and
catalog my trip. I know not many people have followed this blog, but I hope you
all have enjoyed my rants and writings. As per usual, I will go through my week
day by day. The last part of the blog will be my thoughts on the whole
experience! I am writing this a week late, so some of the days won’t have too
much. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Monday was The Washington Center’s commencement ceremony!
Like all commencements, it was boring. I sat at the back and played on my phone
the whole time, as did my roommate, Nasir. That afternoon I ate for the last
time at my favorite Greek place across the street. If you are ever in DC, be
sure to go up to Silver Spring, MD, to eat at the Big Greek Café! It is on
Georgia Ave and Wayne St., or right around there. Tuesday was like any other
Tuesday. It was slow, so we didn’t really have much to do. I whipped up my last
round of PCMH score slides for Wednesday’s morning report and that was about
it! That evening was pretty dull; I was trying to save money so I would have a
nice cushion in case something happened whilst traveling home. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wednesday was my last day at the VA Medical Center.
Obviously we didn’t do too much. We skipped out early to go eat at Taylor’s
Gourmet Hoagies; my gosh, it was amazing! I had an Italian Sausage foot long
with grilled peppers and onions and provolone cheese on a fresh loaf of bread.
My mouth is watering just thinking about it! On the way there, we passed the
post office where Anthrax was first introduced to America! haha After we ate,
Lauryn and I said our final goodbye to Diane, our boss and rode with Jonathan,
one of our awesome coworkers who came with us, to the metro stop to be dropped
off. At the metro stop, Lauryn, Jonathan, and I all said our final goodbyes.
When I was headed back to Silver Spring, I realized I left my bag in Diane’s
car! We met up and I got it within 20 minutes, so it was no big deal. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thursday was my last class in DC and in my junior year of
college! I just had to take a test, which wasn’t too bad. I know I made an A in
the class! I decided that before class, I would walk around the National Mall
one last time! I started at Union Station, walked up to the Capitol Building,
walked west towards the Lincoln Memorial, went south to the Jefferson Memorial,
and then walked back to Union Station. I know that sounds easy on paper, but
that was a ton of walking. To add to it, I got poured on by a microburst. I had
to spend the next three hours in wet socks and shoes! It sucked. But once I got
back to Union Station, I decided that it was just time for me to walk to class,
so I did! I took the test, said bye to Dr. Dieguez, and then ate at Five Guys
burgers to celebrate. Unfortunately, they jacked up my order, but it was still
super good! Honestly, I really enjoyed forensic psych! Dr. Dieguez was a great
professor. I wish he taught at RSU! Haha<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Friday was my last day in DC. I slept til around 9:30, got
up, and then had an informational interview with an IO psychologist who worked
in the VA! That was a good experience. After that, I cleaned the apartment
really well, did my laundry, packed, had my RA check out, and then went to
Bossa one last time. I went by myself and had a good ol time! I also ate at the
Jumbo Slice pizza place one last time! It was good and greasy, as per usual.
The music started a bit late, but it was worth the wait! I got rained on
heading home too; I think DC was crying because I was leaving. :/ <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Saturday was my trip back home! The beginning of the trip
was a prime example of Murphy’s Law; everything that can go wrong did in fact
go wrong. Luckily, I gave myself enough time to take that into account! Haha
For starters, one of the wheels on my huge bag broke right as I was leaving the
apartment. Then, the Yellow Line did not come, so I had to hop on the Blue
Line, which takes a huge detour. After that, the train stopped for around five
minutes right outside the airport station. Next, I got my luggage checked,
which was no problem, but the security line was huge! By then, Murphy decided
to give me a break, and I got to jump near the start of a new security line. I
even had time to grab some Panda Express for breakfast around 9:30 even though
it does not open until 10. Murphy decided to jab a me one last time, and I had
to check my carry-on bag because the gatekeeper said it wouldn’t fit in the
over head compartment, which was total BS. Haha Once I got in the air, it was
smooth sailing. I arrived in Dallas, grabbed some McDons, and then hopped on my
next flight right away! The gates were really close, so it was nice. Once I got
to Tulsa, I met up with my mom and sister, grabbed my luggage, and then got a
huge greeting from the dogs at home! I had finally made it home!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I will more than likely start to miss DC in a few days. That’s
usually how it goes with long trips to cool places it seems! All in all, it was
an experience of a lifetime. I learned professional and office etiquette, met
great people, learned some of my strengths and weaknesses that I had not really
noticed before, and realized what I want to do for a career. Going into the
trip, I really wanted to go into Industrial Organizational psychology. After
shadowing a neuropsychologist and sitting in on different neuropsych things, I
realized that I really want to be a neuropsychologist! I was practically giddy
when I did some of the neuropsych things. I will like it a lot more than IO
psych I am sure. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was great getting to hang out with my friend Brandon. We
hadn’t really talked much since he graduated, but it was great to rekindle that
friendship. We had a ton of fun together! We explored DC, camped in the hills
of Maryland, rushed around NYC, and went to great museums together as well as
just staying in, eating pizza, playing video games, and watching Modern Family.
Without him, I don’t think I would have had nearly as much fun! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My experience at the VA was great and will look amazing on
my resume! Haha I learned a lot there about the healthcare system, office
etiquette, and navigating office politics. Haha Diane was a fantastic boss and
great mentor! I will miss her. After working at the VA for 3 months, I do not
think I want to have a career in the government. Haha It was sad to see our tax
dollars being used inefficiently. That is no diss to Diane and those I were
surrounded by, but I heard a ton of stories and saw many things that speak to
bureaucratic inefficiency. I think the Veterans Health Administration is trying
to do right and take care of the veterans, but honestly, I am not sure if it is
as good of a system as it could be. There is so much yellow tape and hoops that
needed to be jumped through it seemed. Sometimes I wonder if it would work
better just to fee base out the care for veterans to the private sector and do
away with the VA medical centers. Medical centers and hospitals are complex by
nature, and the bureaucratic layer just seems to add to it. But then again, I
was only there for 3 months. I am sure I am not nearly as informed about the
inner workings of the VA. These are just some thoughts and observations! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I should probably talk about the good things I saw at the VA
too! Haha as the saying goes “It is the squeaky wheel that gets the oil,” so
the bad cases would naturally get more attention than the good ones. I saw a
lot of good things at the VA! One was the 105-year-old WWII African-American female
veteran I got to meet. She will be in my thoughts the rest of my life. She was
so spunky and full of life despite being old and only having one leg. It always
brought a smile to my face when I would see her zip around the facility on her
power chair. Haha It was also humbling to see veterans who have lost both of
their legs walk around and state of the art prosthetic legs. There were so many
good cases I heard while being there; it is important to not let the negative
things overshadow the good. I heard a lot of bad stories simply because I
worked in the office that they came through. All in all, I know the VA is
working hard to take care of our heroes, and I am so proud to have been a part
of that team. I think I will try to hook up with the VA in Muskogee and
volunteer there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Going to DC was one of the best decisions I made. I am
excited for the big new adventure that is approaching in the future. I am not
entirely sure what it is, but I am looking forward to it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-55014096467790028512013-05-08T16:04:00.003-05:002013-05-08T16:04:30.708-05:00One more week!
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April 29<sup>th</sup> – May 5<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Monday was my last day of programming!!!! I am so glad to be
done with that. All I had to do was give a presentation on blind obedience,
which I have done numerous times, and then sit through other presentations.
Tuesday and Wednesday were both quite boring at work. It has been slow lately,
which I am fine with! I have been mentally checked out for like the last week
or so. Haha <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Thursday ended the boring streak! With work, there really
wasn’t much to do. The thing that was fun was that I got to attend a
neuropsychology televideo conference. It was so cool! It is a weekly thing that
the neuropsychologists fellows and experienced psychologists do on a weekly
basis from different facilities. They discuss a case and then someone presents
on a topic. I can’t go into details about the patient, but the discussion was
cool! One of the neuropsych fellows in the War Related Injury and Illness Study
Center (WRIISC) presented on how the different diagnoses related to alcohol
overuse are changing in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual’s latest edition,
which will come out this month (hopefully). The other things discussed were
heavy metal poisoning and therapy treatment for patients with Multiple
Sclerosis. Thursday also marked the last lecture for my forensic Psychology
class, which I am sad about. I have really enjoyed this class! The professor,
Dr. Dieguez, is really cool too. He and I usually talk a lot before class since
I always get there super early. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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That Friday, I went and hung out with my friend in Virginia
for the last time. We went to this great place called Café Rio! It is a lot
like Chipotle. I will admit it, I am a huge Chipotle fan; having said that, it
was actually better than Chipotle. I was skeptical at first, but my friend was
right! After that, we saw Iron Man 3! It was really good! I liked it a lot. I
won’t go into details so as not to spoil it, but I really liked it. It was
action packed and hilarious from the start! Saturday was fun! He and I just
watched movies and played video games. It was a good last hang out! On Sunday,
I went to a festival with a friend from TWC! That was a ton of fun! It was a
good way to end the week. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-11409292680630058382013-05-04T21:39:00.002-05:002013-05-04T21:39:22.667-05:00rabies and Camping
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April 22<sup>nd</sup> – April 28<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></div>
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Welp, Monday was very relaxing day. I was supposed to shadow
another psychologist, but that got cancelled. :/ Instead, I got a haircut,
worked out, ate some good food, and relaxed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Tuesday was an interesting day! Well, that evening was at
least. I had my last civic engagement event. We had like four guest speakers.
Two of them were husband and wife who talked about homelessness among veterans
from first-hand experiences. The husband was a veteran who became homeless
after leaving the service, and he met his wife at a homeless shelter. She
wasn’t a veteran, though. The speaker to follow them was another veteran who
had experience with homelessness. At this time, he is actually homeless. He has
been in and out of homelessness for a while. Right now, though, he is working
on getting his education. He was a fantastic speaker! He is on his way to
getting his masters degree too. The last dude was a former Major in the Army.
He talked about the problems Vietnam Vets had when returning home, and he told
us what he has been working on since Vietnam. Before he retired, he was an
attorney who helped draft up some legislature to make sure vets who had Agent
Orange sickness get treated. He also worked on other pieces of legislature to
make sure veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan get better treatment. He
was super interesting! The highlight of that night, however, was my run in with
a homeless man, ironically. It turns out, it was the same dude who approached
me at Union Station and asked to eat my food! He’s updated his story a little
bit sense then. First off, he is still a smooth talker like he was before.
Typically, I do not stop for homeless people (for safety, not because I am a
jerk), but he is just so friendly! His handshake lingered too long, which I
found odd. He’s updated his story a bit since last time! Haha No apparently his
wife, who he pointed to (no one was there besides the dude he was walking with
before he stopped me), needed some food. He had two bucks and he just needed
help to get $4 so he could get a dinner meal at the convenience store he
pointed to. A: the store he pointed to is a liquor store. B: they don’t have a
$4 dollar dinner deal there. I politely declined and walked away. Oh, and to
put the icing on the cake, he told me his name is Anaconda. That made my night.
Haha<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Wednesday was super interesting! Work was slow and we didn’t
have much to do, but that afternoon was intriguing! I got to attend a brain
cutting session! Well, typically they have a brain to dissect, but this time
they just had microscope slides and a slide show! The reason they did not have
the brain was because it was at the CDC, I believe. The brain we looked at was
from a patient who had a kidney transplant around 14 months ago, and subsequently
contracted rabies from the donor. It was a big deal! We had been following the
case in the office since we heard about it, so it was surreal to see first-hand
what we were reading about. It was interesting to see how the rabies affected
the brain. I am not familiar what brain matter looks like under a microscope,
so I cannot make a very good comparison of what it does. However, they pointed
out what it does, and it was easy to see. Here is a link to the news article
about the patient! <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/15/health/organ-transplant-rabies-death">http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/15/health/organ-transplant-rabies-death</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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After work, I went to yet another performance at the Kennedy
Center! They are doing a special on New Orleans music, so it has been fun! This
week was a trumpet player who combines different jazz aspects with pop, rock,
and hip-hop. It was really good! The band, Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs,
was very energetic and got the whole crown involved! It was great. He had like a
compact trumpet, or something like that; I had never seen such a small trumpet
before! The band consisted of the a trumpet/singer, Grammy Award winning
bassist, a bad-A stereotypical R&B/hip-hop drummer, guitar/singer, keyboard
player, and percussionist/trombone/singer! It was a very<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>unique sound, but they pulled it off very
well. They also managed to pull off a mash-up of Adele’s song “Rolling in the
Deep” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Team Spirit.” It sounded fantastic!!! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Thursday was a quick day! I got to help out the business
office answer some phones because they were short staffed; a lot of people were
out sick that day! It was super easy. I felt like I was back at financial aid
at RSU again. A lot of the people calling were checking on if their checks were
in the mail to pay for an outsourced procedure and that their claims were taken
care of, so people were somewhat stressed about that. On top of that, the
answering machine was backed up 64 messages (all of which I had to write down
and clear), so people hadn’t heard back because no one had gotten their
message. Luckily, I was used to dealing with disgruntled people from financial
aid, so it wasn’t too bad. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Friday was pretty much a blur, but luckily the weekend made
up for it. On Saturday, I had to do my last civic engagement event! I had to
help set up a table for the VA at the first annual LGBT Veterans Convention!
Since I helped with modifying the facility policies and procedures to be more
accommodating for the LGBT community and to fulfill the Healthcare Equality
Index Survey for 2013, helping with the event was like seeing things come full
circle. After I did that event, I booked it on out to my friends place so get
could get started on our camping trip! The trip was awesome! We explored Cotoctan
National Park and Cunningham Falls State Park. We wound up camping in the state
park. After we got settled in our spot, we hiked around and went to the
waterfalls. They were amazing!!! I sorta kinda twisted my ankle on a rock, but
it wasn’t too bad. That night, all I had for sleeping was a pillow and two
sleeping bags… no tent, pad, or anything. The first bag I tried to sleep in was
made for midgets I am pretty sure. Eventually, I used that one like a mattress
and the second one like a blanket. I slept on the picnic table for the first
half of the night, but then my face got too cold so I moved to the car. The
next day, we packed up, went to his place, had Chipotle, and then I went home. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-54725858209106345142013-04-22T14:39:00.001-05:002013-04-22T14:39:06.831-05:00Disaster drills and what not
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April 15<sup>th</sup> – 21<sup>st</sup><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Monday was a fun day! I got to meet an FBI agent! He was the
head of the violent crime departments cyber division, or something along those
lines. He is also a TWC alumni, hence us getting the meeting with him. He
interned with the Sergeant at Arms, which is like the head of security for
congress, or something like that. Anyways, after graduation, he went on to work
with the Capitol Police Department, and eventually joined their SWAT team,
which is pretty much the best in the nation. He told us his 9/11 story, which
was insane. On 9/10, his bosses had a meeting with the SWAT team and said they
were no longer needed since it was a changing world and SWAT was out of date.
Obviously, after 9/11, they redacted that statement. He eventually switched over
to the FBI, where he is today. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Tuesday may be the highlight of the week. I got to sit in on
a Supreme Court oral argument! That was quite the surreal experience. I got up
at 5, got in line to get my ticket at 6:20, got my ticket at around 7:30,
grabbed some breakfast at Union Station, got back in line at 8:30, and got in
around 10. Unfortunately, I did not make the cut for getting a seat for the
day. I had to get in the 3-5 minute tour line, which was not what I wanted. As
per usual when I do things by myself, I met some cool people. The lady in front
of me worked in the Attorney’s office in South Carolina that dealt with the
case. Her husband was an administrator at some college, or something like that.
The case was really interesting! It was about who gets custody of a Native
American child when her mother died or something like that. The father said he
did not want anything to do with the child before she was even born, so she was
put up for adoption. Later, the dad said he did in fact want custody, and because
of some law, she was taken from the adoptive family that would have cared for
her better given to the dad. I am a little hazy about all of the details, so
don’t take my word for it. The lady in front of me worked with the adoptive
parents, and ironically enough, there was a lady farther up the line who worked
for the dad’s side. After that, I waltzed over to the Library of Congress and
had a look around. When I was walking around, I saw possibly the most important
book of modern times: the Gutenberg Bible. It was essentially the first book
ever printed by the first fully operational mechanical printing press. It
signifies Europe’s exit from the Middle Ages to modern time, where knowledge
and history is free to anyone since books can be widely printed. That is
probably at par with seeing the Supreme Court oral argument. On my way back to
Union Station, where I was going to hop on the Metro, I heard some feint drum
rhythms off in the distance; I decided to follow the sounds. Low and behold,
there was a parade!! It was the Emancipation Day Parade! Needless to say, I
stuck around there for quite a while. By the time I got on the Metro, got home
and charged my phone, it was two. I decided a nap was in order, which was
amazing despite the fact that I had a dream that a nuclear bomb went off here
in DC while I was here. It was a weird dream. I think it was caused by the
Boston Marathon bombing that happened the day before. That was a terrible
tragedy. It sickens me to see the evil side of humanity like that. Despite that
evil act, I loved seeing the goodness in humanity at the same time. On the
videos, you can see people running to the scene right after the explosion to
help those in need. It was great to see the average Joe help out his fellow
American in need like that. My heart and prayers go out to all of those
effected directly and the family members of those people as well. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Wednesday was a blur, and Thursday was fairly blah too. The
only major thing we did those two days was a tornado drill on Thursday. It was
a city wide thing. The VAMC would turn into a disaster center if something
severe were to happen, so we practiced that. The Patient Advocates’ office will
be a family reunification center, so I put some spread sheets together and
slapped them on a poster board so that we could keep track of missing people
and who is looking for who. It was supposed to be a big thing, and everyone in
the facility was supposed to partake in the disaster drill; unfortunately, no
one really took it seriously. It was a bit of a let down. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Friday, I only had to go in from 8:30 to 9:15. Originally,
we were planning on being actors and helping with the decontamination part of
the disaster drill, but no one got back to us on that, so Diane let Lauryn and
I go home early. That evening, I went to the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage
and enjoyed some free music! The band performing was this four piece fusion
band from New Orleans called the Mike Dillon Band. It was quite the unique
sound! The band consisted of drums, baritone guitar, trombone, and a dude who
played the vibes and a whole slew of other percussive instruments! Both the
trombone and vibes used some pedal effects, which was quite unique! That was the
first time I have ever seen vibes or a trombone play punk rock. lol it was
great!! I want to get their CD once I get some cash flowing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On Saturday, I was supposed to do this civic engagement
thing, but I didn’t get an email telling me the specifics even though I emailed
the lady twice. Regardless, I went down to the National Mall and tried to find
them, but I couldn’t find them! After walking around the national mall for a
while, I went to my friend’s house out in Virginia and we watched Modern
Family, played video games, ate pizza, and just relaxed for the rest of the
weekend. It was great!! <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-79557366710702456872013-04-14T20:49:00.003-05:002013-04-14T20:49:33.111-05:00A big ol' church
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April 8<sup>th</sup> – April 14<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This week was a fairly stressful week. Work wasn’t bad or
anything. There was just a little confrontation with a roommate, and we wound
up getting some mediation. Hopefully it will be all good from now on out! I am
ready to come home now. I miss my family, my friends, my drums, and my bed that
I actually fit in comfortably.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus, I
will have my awesome summer job to return to!! I am really looking forward to
working at the pool and seeing my favorite patrons again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This weekend was a good weekend! I explored the National
Cathedral with a friend. We met up at the Woodley Park Metro station, got us
some drinks, and then trekked to the Cathedral. As far as the Cathedral itself
is concerned, it was like the other cathedrals I have seen. I have seen Notre
Dame de Reims and Notre Dame de Paris as well as West Minster Abbey, St.
Peter’s Basilica, Sacre Coeur, and The Basilica of the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception, so it wasn’t as jaw-dropping as it was the first time I
saw a Cathedral in Reims, France. Having said that, the grounds of this
cathedral were possibly the best I have seen! The gardens were absolutely
incredible!! Plus, one of the grotesques, which is like a gargoyle but does not
drain water from its mouth, was the head of Darth Vader! I though that was so
cool how they incorporated American lore and an evil being into the old ideas
and designs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Only a few more weks and then I am home! I have had such an
amazing experience and time here, but I am ready to get home. haha<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-70322202777460086522013-04-02T20:43:00.000-05:002013-04-02T20:43:01.380-05:00PTSD sucks.
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March 25<sup>th</sup> – March 31<sup>st</sup><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So Monday was fairly boring. We had to go to some science
and technology company to sit through a lecture on pursuing a career in
technology, none of which was applicable to me. Lol Tuesday was rather
uneventful as well. The most notable part of the day was passing out surveys in
Radiology which assess how happy employees are with their jobs. The answers for
the questions were just agree, neutral, and disagree. I honestly think a Likert
scale or something similar would have been better. Having only those three
options is really limiting. A Likert scale would give greater feed back on if
the VA was doing amazing in some areas, where they are doing good but could
still improve, and where they just suck. Haha But that’s just my opinion! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wednesday was the highlight of my week!!!! I got to sit in
on a neuropsychological evaluation! It was so cool. Obviously, I cannot say
anything about the individual due to confidentiality, but I can talk about to
the process since it is standard! Dr. McCarron, the neuropsychologist I talked
to a while back who works in the polytrauma department, interviewed the person
extensively and then administered a number of tests that test cognitive skills
like memory, attention, and executive function. There was an effort test as
well to make sure the person was not malingering, which basically just means
faking it. It took about 3-4 hours to complete! Now Dr. McCarron has to analyze
the test results, and then she will give the person feed back, which I will
hopefully be able to watch as well. That afternoon, I got to sit in on the
Polytrauma department meeting! The different people sit around<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a table and discuss the different patients
and cases. It was really cool to watch! That afternoon I also interviewed a
potential intern for the VA! That was a fun experience too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Thursday, I was able to sleep in and just relax. Diane
gave Lauryn and I Thursday and Friday off. After sleeping in and getting ready,
I went in to work anyways because I am such an over achiever! Jk, I went in to
conduct another interview and meet with Dr. Cueva, the psychologist I
accidentally skipped a meeting with a while back. We talked for close to an
hour! He is the head of the trauma department, which pretty much just deals
with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We talked extensively about what he
does there and how treatment for PTSD has improved significantly over the past
few years! He gave me two pamphlets that discussed the two manual treatments
for PTSD. One has to do with repeat exposure to the event that helps modify
behaviors. It is a very cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) oriented treatment
plan. The person determines certain behaviors that are a result of the
traumatic events, like fear of sitting with a back to a door or fear of crowds,
and then exposing their self to that behavior by sitting with their back to the
door at home, then on a bus, then at a restaurant, etc. or going to the mall
during the afternoon three times midweek, then in the evening mid week, then on
the weekends, etc The other one deals more with fixing false perception and
seems to be more of a psychodynamic treatment. They figure out what emotion or
thought is a result of the trauma, like guilt or survivors remorse, and then
walking through it and determining how that thought or feeling is wrong. It was
extremely interesting! We also talked a lot about the schooling process as
well. He added some more insight and ideas to what other psychologists have told
me so far. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Friday was very relaxing! I slept in, worked out, hung out,
and then went to my friend’s house. We hung out, watched Modern Family, which
is incredible, and ate some good pizza. On Saturday, we made a day trip to
Baltimore! We explored the Inner Harbor, watched some street performers, ate at
Dick’s Last Resort, which was quite the experience, and went to the National
Aquarium. It was so cool!!! We were supposed to go in at 3:15, but we decided
to sneak in early. It was so freaking crowded at first, which was quite
annoying. It reinforced the idea that I do not want to have children for a long
time, and when I have kids, they will be better behaved than most of those kids
there! While there, I got a text from my dad saying he was in my back yard, and
he meant Baltimore. He didn’t even know I was there! We tried to meet up before
I left, but I did not work out. On Easter Sunday, my friend and I were going to
hit up the National Cathedral wearing suits, but we did not realize that we had
to reserve a space. Instead, we got Wendy’s, which I have not had since I got
here, and killed zombies. That evening, when I got home, my roommate Sean made
an Easter meal, so that was nice! I had Easter with some TWC friends. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-41806884058857710352013-03-28T19:52:00.003-05:002013-03-28T19:52:46.255-05:00The visitation
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March 18<sup>th</sup> – March 24<sup>th</sup> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Since I am writing this a bit late, Some of the details are
a little bit fuzzy. That Monday, I came back from NYC! I had to get up super
early in the morning again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My friend
and I got back around 12:30, bad some Fuddruckers, and then went our separate
ways. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Tuesday was back to work! Well, after meeting with
Congressman Jim Bridenstine. That was quite the experience! He was a fun guy to
talk to. He was in a military subcommittee meeting, and had to be pulled out.
When we went to where the meeting was, protesters were being detained! It was
pretty sweet! But the main focus of our discussion were the negative aspects of
ObamaCare. For starters, people cannot as personalized insurance plans; they
will be what the government wants them to be. A good example is how a 90 year
old lady will have to pay for contraceptives since they will be covered on her
insurance plan. Also, It will be cheaper to pay the fee for not having
insurance than paying the premiums themselves! A lot of companies wont insure
their employees anymore because it will be more expensive than paying the fee.
Some people will just get insurance when they get sick and then drop it once
they are better and just keep paying the fee. It has been a few days since we
talked about it, so I am a bit hazy on the details though. Don’t quote me on
any of that. Haha Also, I believe it was that day that I met with Dr. Hull, one
of the neuropsychologists at the VAMC. We just talked about what she does and
her path to there. She works in the War Related Illness and Injury Study
Centers (WRIISC). It is pretty self explanatory as to what they study there.
She conducts neuropsychological evaluations and interviews, and does research.
She was very insightful about how graduate school works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told me about how I should do some
research while still in my undergraduate, because that will help me get into
graduate programs. Also, she told me about the matching process for getting a
doctoral internship. I won’t go into the details, but it boils down to that you
don’t pick the exact site, and the sites don’t pick the exact interns; an
algorithm matches the site to the intern. She also informed me that for picking
a doctorate program, I should look at the mentors in that program, see what
research they do and if I would like it, and then see if they are taking
students. She was very helpful about the whole graduate school process!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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That Wednesday was a blur in the morning! I was just excited
for my parents to get here. I left work early and picked them up around 2:30!
After that, we trekked back to Silver Spring, got them checked in, ate at my
favorite local restaurant, My Big Greek Café, and then just hung out and
talked. It was so nice to see them! They are the fun type of parents that are
fun to hang out with. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On Thursday, we went to Union Station and had crepes for
breakfast, walked to the Capitol Building, went to the Smithsonian Air and
Space Museum, had lunch, went to the top of the Old Post Office Pavilion, hit
up the Smithsonian American History Museum, and ended with the National
Gallery. The National Gallery was possibly my favorite place that day. I got to
see the only Da Vinci in the Western Hemisphere. I have seen a few of his other
works at both the British National Gallery and the Louvre. On top of that, I
say some lovely Impressionist paintings. I got to see some works by Cezanne,
Monet, and Van Gogh. Van Gogh is probably my favorite Impressionist painter,
especially when it comes to landscape works. I am not so big on his still-lifes
or portraits. My favorite of his works there was “Olive Orchard.” Again, I have
already seen several works by these works at the British National gallery and
the Louvre. For Monet, I saw his famous Water Lilies at L’Orangerie in Paris. I
think those are my favorite works by Monet. Anyways, this blog is not about my
favorite pieces of art, so I shall go on. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Friday was the Caleb Demarais Death March. In the morning, I
took my parents to the VAMC to meet my boss and coworker, Diane and Lauryn, as
well as other people at the VA. They got to sit in on the SAVE training I
coordinated. After Diane gave them a tour, we went to Arlington National
Cemetery, which began the March. We walked from the guest center to the Tomb of
the Unknown Soldier, which was a surreal experience. After that, we walked
back. Then we walked to Georgetown, ate at a nice Italian place. From there, we
walked to Foggy bottom, hopped on the Metro and got off at Federal Triangle.
After that, we went from there to the George Washington Monument, passing the
White House on the way, went to the Lincoln Memorial, walked to the MLK
Memorial, walked around the tidal basin to the Jefferson Memorial, and ended at
the Smithsonian Metro stop. That night, we went to Columbia Heights and walked
to the Adams Morgan area to go the Bossa, my favorite club here. We got home
around 1:30! We walked over 10 miles that day! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Saturday was not a death march day. Lol We slept in, got
some food, hit up the Natural History Smithsonian, and split up so dad could go
the Holocaust Museum and mom could go the National Gallery again. We didn’t
have nearly enough time to see it all last time, so both her and I wanted to go
back! That evening, we got some good food and just relaxed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On Sunday, we went to the Basilica of the National Shrine of
the Immaculate Conception for Palm Sunday! It was quite the enriching
experience! That afternoon, I dropped them off and did nothing. I was sad to
see them leave. As much as I hate to say it, I am a somewhat ready to go home.
I have explored DC, seen the monuments, been to the museums, explored the
nightlife, and had many great experiences! But it is weird not doing stuff like
that without my family and friends from home. The saying “ you never really
notice something until it’s gone” (or something like that) is true. I have an
amazing family and group of friends! It is going to be weird going off to grad school
after next year and having to find a new group of friends. But I already went
on a rant about that in a previous blog. Once it warms up more, I will go and
explore more parts of DC! I know the rest of my time here will just fly by. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-60043071190958165932013-03-19T21:18:00.002-05:002013-03-19T21:18:35.276-05:00New York, New York
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<br />
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March 11<sup>th</sup> to March 18<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Monday was awesome!!! My program went to the FAA
headquarters to meet with the department that regulates and licenses privatized
space flight! IT was so cool. I met some aerospace engineers and what not. No
big deal. A lot of people think that NASA regulates American space travel, but
that is not entirely true. The Air Force regulates military space stuff, NASA
deals with civic space stuff like the International Space Station and
experiments, and the FAA regulates privatized space travel. A lot of people
give Obama flack for retiring the shuttle and say that he is limiting America’s
future; I used to be one of those! In all actuality, what Obama did was push
more for the private sector to take the lead. The government uses private companies
now to ship stuff to the ISS and will eventually use them to send people. One
of the things the FAA does is inspect launch sites and the space vehicles,
including a spaceport in Oklahoma! That night, I also went to a comedy night at
a local restaurant. It was pretty funny!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tuesday was pretty interesting. Lauryn and I went on a trip
with one of the veterans at the Community Living Center (CLC), which is pretty
much just a nursing home. The guy had some brain trauma and had some problems
with words, but he still functioned really well. We had to get him some ink for
his printer. He is a phenomenal artist! He started using computer programs,
hence the need for ink. Lol He was a super smart dude! It was really cool. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On Wednesday, it was just Lauryn and I manning the ship
while Diane was out of the office. I was kinda nervous about it at first, but
it was actually pretty easy. I made a flow chart for the Code Blue cart that we
had worked on (see previous blogs), met with a neuropsychologist to talk about
career options, paths, and possible shadowing opportunities, sat it on some
meetings, worked on the Healthcare Equality Index stuff(again, see previous
posts), and then called it quits. The veteran who we went to get some printer
ink with the day before swung by and brought us some food to try that he made!
He is a cool dude. Since the new Pope was elected, I walked down to the
Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception! Diane recommended it. That
place was amazing! There were reporters everywhere and it was super busy. I
have been to a few cathedrals and basilicas in my day, and I have to say, that
one is pretty high ranking! It was so ornate and decorated! You could tell that
it was built a lot more recent then many of the ones I have been to. It just
looked a lot newer and modern. There weren’t any flying buttresses or Gothic
architectural features. That evening, I went to Union Station, got two
fantastic crepes (I was starving, don’t judge), and then headed off to an
event. I had the privilege of attending the opening ceremony for the building
for a Student Veterans Association at George Washington University! It was
pretty cool. I got to take a picture with General Casey, he was the Army Chief
of Staff between 2007-2011 I believe. He has done a lot of other stuff too! It
was an honor to meet him. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thursday was spent ushering around the film crew again! They
had to film my boss, Diane, and a little bit of the narrative medicine group
meeting. I got so engulfed with it that I completely forgot my meeting with a
staff psychologist! I felt so bad! What a crappy first impression. I sent an
email that morning making sure he was on for that afternoon… I felt like a
complete idiot. After apologizing profusely, I asked him if he would mind
rescheduling; he agreed to reschedule! Friday was an interesting day. My boss,
along with the programmers who were developing the app, presented the Mt
Capitol VA mobile application to the director and the rest of the quadrad. That
was an interesting experience. The app’s landing screen called it something
along the lines of “The VA Healthcare Network,” which was not what he wanted.
He really wanted it to say My Capitol VA. The application was being made for
the DC VAMC first, and then it was going to be used as a template for the other
VAMC’s. The generic landing screen was just so it could be used easier later on
for the other locations. The director thought that we had developed an app for
the whole VA and not just the DC VAMC, so he was not so happy since it was using
DC VAMC money. Eventually, things got straightened out and he realized that it
was being developed for the DC VAMC and then to be used as a template for the
other VAMC’s. The DC VAMC is the center of innovation, so we do that a lot. The
DC VAMC pioneered doctors using tablets for charting as well as using
telecommuting for talking to doctors and getting a consult. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The weekend was the highlight of my week! I got up at the
crack of 4:45, got ready, met my friend from Virginia, and then hopped on a
Metro bus to Chinatown, where we boarded another bus to NEW YORK CITY!!!!!! A
lot of friends from the RSU Honors Program were on a Study at Large trip to The
Big Apple for spring break, so my friend and I decided to go visit them! It was
a blast! I really missed those people, and it was great to see them again. My
best friend Tommy was on the trip too, which was probably the best part! We
arrived at Penn Station around noon, met up with the group, went to Time
Square, ate some great food, went to the St. Patrick’s Day parade, went to
Central Park, went back to their apartment and dropped off our bags, explored
Brooklyn, ate at a pub, and then just hung out the rest of the night. It was
snowing for a large part of the day, which made the parade and Central Park really
beautiful! I got some great pictures. On Sunday, we went to the Natural History
Museum and Planetarium, walked around some more, ate at a nice French
Restaurant, and then hung out some more. I honestly think I was more excited
about seeing my friends more then I was about seeing NYC! Two days was not
enough to fully see NYC, obviously, so I knew I would have to make a trip back
there in the future. But it was really fun to hang out, play cards, watch some
movies, and explore with my peeps. It was fun hanging out with Dr. Ford and Dr.
Gray, the Honors Director and his wife, who is also a professor at RSU. They
were the ones chaperoning the trip! Got some good life lessons from the two of
them! Haha All in all, the trip was amazing, the week was busy, and I am ready
to kick the next week in the butt!<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-41212944965663030972013-03-11T15:49:00.003-05:002013-03-11T15:49:17.583-05:00Sentimental and stuff
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March 4<sup>th</sup> – March 10<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></div>
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Well Monday was rather uneventful. I wasted a bit of money
today on the Metro… more so than I really should have. Lol I had a meeting with
my program advisor at 10:30, so I was going to just stay at the Residential and
Academic Facility (RAF) until the seminar started at 1. Unfortunately, I forgot
that the seminar’s dress code was business professional; I was just wearing
jeans and a polo. Needless to say, I went back to Solaire and changed into a
suit! The seminar didn’t seem to apply to what I plan on going into at all, so
I thought it was boring. It was just about some White House Fellowship thing.
That evening was rather relaxing. I worked out, ate, read, did some shopping,
and watched a movie. When I was trolling about on Facebook, I came across a
post from a friend. She posted a song from my band, Brother Rabbit (which all
of you should go check out). I was overwhelmed with nostalgia. I got caught up
in the memories of my favorite gigs, fun jam sessions, and recording. I really
miss playing with them. The sad thing, however, is that even when I go back and
start playing with them again, it won’t be the same. Ryon (lead guitar/vocals)
and Joel (Lead guitar as well) both moved away. I will still have Gabe and
Susie, but it won’t be the old band since two key members are gone. I hear the
replacements are great, so I am excited about getting to jam with them! The
whole feeling of reminiscing a past life made me think of all the different
stages of life I have been through. I have had so many phases of life
characterized by certain events and people; its fun, and sad at the same time,
to just think back at my journey of life so far. I have had so many friends who
have come and gone. I have gone on so many trips. I have had so many life
experiences. I have been so fortunate to live the life that I have lived, met
the people I have met, and done the things that I have done. If I had skipped
anyone or any experience, I wouldn’t be the man I am today. After that, I got
thinking about my life to come. I am mostly done with my junior year. It is so
crazy to think that around two and a half years ago I was just beginning my
college career; time seems to go buy so much quicker the older you get. Soon, I
will be off to graduate school, and then a career after that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is so weird to think that soon I will not
see the same people I have seen almost everyday for two and a half years in a
row. Sadly enough, most of them will just float on into my past like those who
did from high school and elementary school before. I feel like this whole trip
to D.C. is a training session of what is to come. Here, I do not see my best
friends everyday of the week. I cannot just go chill at home with my family and
play with the dogs. I am temporarily cut off from all of them for three months,
well I guess just two months now. I feel like I will be able to handle my
long-term separation from those I love after I graduate. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The rest of the week was really uneventful. My weeks are
running together. The only thing that I really remember doing is helping a
resident of the Community Living Center (CLC), which is essentially a nursing
home, print off some of his artwork. The printer in his room ran out of ink, so
we had to find him another way to print it. We got it figured out, and we also
found out a way for him to get more ink for his printer! The CLC residents can
leave the CLC with a responsible adult, so Lauryn and I talked to the powers at
be to take him out on an excursion. That will be next Tuesday. The only other
thing I really remember was making a spreadsheet of the grad school programs
for Industrial Organizational Psychology that I am interested in on Friday.
Lauryn went home for the weekend, and it was a slow day, so I did that most of
the day; Diane let me go home early too, which was nice!<o:p></o:p></div>
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That weekend, I went a friend’s house out near Vienna, Virginia,
and explored that area. We finished season 1 of Modern Family, which is
hilarious, played video games, went to some thrift shops, saw Oz, and drove
around George Mason University, which is one of the grad schools I am
interested in. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-45271425407349539532013-03-03T21:13:00.004-06:002013-03-03T21:13:44.592-06:00Narrative Medicine, Jazz, and Shuttle Buses
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Feb 25<sup>th</sup> – March 3<sup>rd</sup><o:p></o:p></div>
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This week has been quite the action-packed week, or so it
seems looking back. On Monday, my program, Science, Technology, and Society,
went to the US Green Building Council. We took a tour of the place, which was
freaking awesome, learned about their green building rating system, and then
learned how they are involved on campuses. For starters, the two floors of the
building they are in was freaking awesome. It had a platinum rating on being
environmental friendly (of course), and was very modern. For one, they had a
break room with a Wii and PS3. I have never seen an office building that had a
kitchen that modern and green. They even had showers there since they promote
people to ride bikes and walk to work! The rating system was fairly
straightforward. They have different scales for the types of building, age of
building, etc. There school involvement was pretty cool! They had student
organizations and promoted building green schools. Apparently, it really is not
that much more to build an environmentally friendly house as opposed to the
regular, earth killing, polar bear displacing houses the rest of America makes.
Haha If that really is true, I will build green if I ever build a house.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Work on Tuesday was a bit hectic. We got the VA’s <span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Survey of Healthcare
Experiences of Patients (SHEP) scores as well as the Patient-Centered Medical
Home (PCMH) scores from November (because they are 3 months delayed), so we had
to put it on the powerpoint for the Director’s morning report the following
day. We were originally going to put them side by side with the TruthPoint
inpatient and outpatient surveys to see if TruthPoint was a good indicator of
what SHEP and PCMH scores showed since TruthPoint comes out monthly, but that
did not work out. Diane had us interns work on that while she did other things,
and we were confused on what to do. She couldn’t really show us what exactly to
do, though, because she was busy doing more important things. We eventually
just scrapped the whole comparison thing; TruthPoint wasn’t a very good
indicator of what was going on with SHEP and PCMH. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wednesday
was a lot easier. The main thing Lauryn, the other intern, and I did that is
worth putting in this blog is that we ran an errand to get a Equal Healthcare
Index. Since the repeal of Don’t Ask. Don’t Tell, the LGBT community will
steadily grow at the VAMC. Obviously it was not a huge presence before since
people could not be openly gay in the military, but the times have changed!
Because of that, the office of Patient-Centered Care and Equal Employment
Opportunity office are working together to develop policies and procedures on
how to handle certain situations with the LGBT community. For instance, if Olga
is in the process of transition from a man to a woman and considers herself to
be a women while still having the male genitalia, does she room with a male or
a female? What if a male patient does not want to room with a gay man? These
are the type of things that we will address with the new policies. Once they
are written, then the staff will be trained on how to handle those situations!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thursday
was a really good day. The highlight of my day was getting to sit in on a
narrative medicine meeting; I believe I talked about narrative medicine in a
previous blog. Essentially, narrative medicine is when the doctor takes more
time to listen to the patient’s story and possibly write it down; the doctor
might keep a journal of his or her thoughts on the patients and situations.
This helps the doctor to really get to know their patient, get a better-rounded
story to diagnose, and gain empathy towards the patient and situation. Dr.
Kheirbek (I probably just butcher the spelling of her name), who is the
assistant chief of staff, is the person spearheading this new way of practicing
medicine. The meeting was about doctors sharing their different stories and
struggles throughout the week. They started by watching a YouTube clip from a
movie where a doctor tells a professor that she has stage 4 ovarian cancer, and
that there is a treatment she can do which could also be used as research; the
doctor was so blunt and matter of fact. The professor seemed fine with it at
first. Later, after her treatment, when she was close to dying, she wished that
someone would just be kind to her and show her compassion. After that, they
read a poem from a book of poems solely based on the medical field. The book is
called <u>On Doctoring</u>. They all took turns reading a poem (I know, sounds
like a middle school classroom) about a man who is given the news that he is
going to die. We discussed that for a while and then reflected on a time when
we, or they I should say, had a difficult encounter with a patient. Some of the
doctors told some very surreal, sad stories. A lot of them were so surprised at
how macabre and blunt they could be at times. Some of them talked about how
they just bluntly told patients “you don’t get it, you’re going to die” when
they aren’t accepting it or something; they were mortified with themselves. It
seemed almost like a group therapy or debriefing session. One of the doctors
there was a psychiatrist, so she shed some light on how some of those people
need the blunt response; that made some doctors feel better. I felt so
fortunate to be able to be apart of that meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Friday
was fairly easy as well. The only two things I really did was coordinate a SAVE
training session, which is a training program for suicide recognition and
prevention. That should be very interesting. The other thing I did was start
looking into shadowing a psychologist. The VAMC has around 27 psychologists, so
I have a good selection to choose from! I emailed a neuropsychologist and asked
him if I could shadow him. That would be epic! The highlight of Friday,
however, was going to Blues Alley. Mike Stern, one of my favorite jazz guitar
players, and Dave Weckl, one of the best drummers of all times, were there; it
was amazing. I had to go alone since no one here really likes that type of
music, but it was totally worth it! I made some new friends while there, so it
was fine. I had to take the Metro to a stop and then walk 1.5 miles to Blues
Alley, which was in Georgetown. I made that trek in a full suit, overcoat,
winter attire, and dress shoes; I think it is fair to call myself a jazz
enthusiast. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
weekend was pretty mellow. I met up with a friend and went to the Smithsonian
zoo, Hot and Juicy Crawfish, and then a movie. The zoo was awesome! Like every
other Smithsonian facility, it was extremely well done. They have two
pandas!!!! I think my favorite thing may have been the Think Tank, which is a
facility where they do research on the great apes; a lot of the research is
cognitive. The Cajun place was awesome! We split a huge platter, which was
actually served in a bag, that had a pound of crawfish, a pound of shrimp, 12
sausage, 2 cobs of corn, and 2 potatoes. My hands still smell like the garlic
butter sauce. It was so messy, but it was amazing. On Sunday, I just chilled
around the apartment, finished the book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ender’s
Game</i>, got caught up on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Community</i>,
and watched some other stuff. I didn’t go out and about because the red line
was shut down for maintenance between Takoma and Noma, which is like 4 or 5
stops. They have a free shuttle system, but it adds around 45 minutes to the
commute. Overall, it was a good week!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-65728678402824887302013-02-18T21:29:00.000-06:002013-02-18T21:29:07.341-06:00Code carts and cold hearts
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I am starting to get in my routine of things. I wake up at
7, leave the apartment at 7:45, hop on the metro, switch to the shuttle, and
get to work at 8:25 fairly consistently. After that, I get started on my work,
usually have lunch at 11:30ish, and then leave by 4. When I get home, I work
out, make some food, do homework (which I really have not had much of), read,
watch some TV, and then doze off before 12. Then I repeat the whole process.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This week was taken over by one big meeting pretty much. My
boss, Diane, was asked to be on a committee for fixing the system of how the
code blue carts are handled after use. (A code blue is sounded whenever a
patient either goes into cardiac arrest or respiratory problems.) On the cart,
they have the defibrillator, suction machine, oxygen tanks, intubation tubes,
syringes, and a crap load of medicine and tools. It was a pretty archaic set up
from what they said, and by archaic I mean from the 50’s. The defibrillator,
suction machine, and O2 tanks should be on separate carts in the unit I guess. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But the main purpose of the meeting was to change the
process after use. How it is now, it takes a huge trip around the hospital to
get cleaned and restocked. An exchange cart is supposed to be on the unit
before the old one even leaves; that never happens. The new process is to keep
the cart on the unit, clean it there, and have prepackaged trays of parts in
the pharmacy and logistics department to exchange. If the cart is extremely
depleted or covered in blood, then it is exchanged with a cart in storage. This
method is a lot more efficient and safe for the patient then the old method. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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That meeting took up two days, Wednesday and Thursday, and
then Friday, there was a camera crew there to interview certain head honchos
around the facility on what new, innovative things the VA is doing. The main
focus is of how the medical facility has switched to the patient centered care
model of medical practice. That simply means that instead of the facility and
doctors being the center of it, telling the patient what to do, and scheduling
everything around the staff, they have the patient at the center, make
appointments based around him, and inform him of all of his options and allow
him to make the decisions on what to do. They focused a lot on the apps the VA
is developing. For instance, they have one called My Healthy Vet that has the
patient’s charts, information, and doctors’ notes on it so that the veteran can
see what is going on and can interact virtually with their healing processes.
They can contact their physician more easily and possibly virtually (I forget).
The other app they are developing is one called My Capitol VA. It has a staff
directory with bios, a map of the medical center, and allows them to make
appointments/gives them push notifications when a spot opens up. The doctors
also are using iPads and laptops to plug stuff into the charts while they are
talking to them. It is really interesting to see new technological innovations
being used like that. At first, one might think the apps are pointless because
vets are old, but in all actuality, the VA’s see a lot of young people back
from the Middle East. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On Saturday, my sister came to visit me! She got here around
2:15, so I hopped on the Metro around 1 to get across DC and pick her up on
time. I honestly could not have timed it any better! Not to brag, but I kind of
impress myself with how good at calculating travel time on the metro I am! Haha
I say that, but this weekend, the Red Line, which I use daily, is under routine
construction and has severe delays. Monique, my sister, and I went to a cool
Latin-Jazz club in the Adam’s Morgan area, which is super cool. On the way
back, we ran into some delays at Fort Totten, which is where we switched from
one line back to the red line. We stood in the freezing weather for 45 minutes;
it was terrible. I about demanded a free pass or something, but by the time we
got to Silver Spring, I was too tired and just wanted to sleep. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On Sunday, we slept in and then battled the frigid drafts to
see the Holocaust Museum. When we got there, the line was wrapped around the
building, so we had to wait out in the cold for around half an hour;
fortunately, the wait was worth it. That is one of the best museums I have been
to, and I have been to a slew of museums! They start by giving you an ID card
of a Holocaust victim that you read about little by little as prompted. You go
up to the top floor and work your way down. The top floor is mainly about the
rise of Nazi Germany and the history of Anti-Semitism. I honestly did not
realize how anti-Semitic pretty much all of Medieval Europe was! Even Martin
Luther was anti-Semitic! When he nailed the 95 Theses on the church door in
1517, some of which were denouncing the Catholic Church’s anti-Semitic beliefs,
he thought the Jews would join him in his reformation and become Christians.
Obviously, the Jews did not, and he said that they all deserved to burn in
Hell, or something like that. I was really surprised by that. I learned a lot
of Jewish history at Lincoln, and knew how they were looked down upon and
travelled around all over Europe, where practically no one accepted them, but
this gave what I already knew some concrete examples.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that section,
it moved on to how the Jews were treated as the Holocaust approached.
Eventually, it got the concentration and extermination camps, and talked about
them being rounded up and exterminated along with Gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals,
disabled people, and anyone else the Nazis thought of as sub-human. I lost all
hope in humanity it felt like. In all honesty, I knew how this could happen,
and how regular citizens could partake in such barbaric actions. I have studied
the Stanley Milgram and Stanford Prison Experiments at least on 6 different
occasions and classes; I know the effects authority, obedience, and compliance
can have on someone. Please don’t think I am making any excuses for why they
did that; there really are no excuses. Even though I am cognizant of how humans
can do that, it was still surreal and devastating to see real artifacts,
pictures, and videos of that. To see videos of corpses being dozed into a mass
grave, corpses that are shriveled and look like mummies from the starvation and
abuse, was horrific. The creators of the exhibit did a fantastic job planning,
though. When you are wallowing in the shallowness and darkness of humanity,
they lift the spirits by telling stories of how people tried to help those
individuals. It raised the spirits to see the goodness of Humanity reach out
and help as many people as possible. At the end, there was a video of Holocaust
survivors. That may have honestly been the hardest part. I’m not gonna lie, I
welled up a few times. There was this one story of this man who cried out to
God and asked Him “How can you let this happen? How can you do nothing while
Jews die all around me? I thought we were your chosen people!! Answer me!!” He
waited for an answer, but he never heard anything. The second hardest one was
told by this man who’s mother was in Budapest while her son was in a
concentration camp. Some people approached her and told her that if she spied
on certain people, they could get her son out. She did not believe them and
refused. Somehow, her son heard about this, and he said he was so proud of her
mom for not caving. That doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but the look on his
face was the saddest part. Another one that stuck with me is when this woman
tells the story of how she was in the same selection line as her mom and sister,
who had a child, and when her mom heard that mothers who have small children
with them will be killed with the child, she ran up to her daughter, took the
child, and said “I just learned that those with children will go an easier area
where they will take care of the children. Since you are young and can handle
the labor the younger ones will go to, I will take the child.” Before the
child’s mother can object, the mother tells the youngest daughter, the
story-teller, to watch her sister, and then she disappears into the crowd. The
mother saved both of her daughters’ lives and made the hard decision to take
her grandson to the gas chamber with her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-58799955649125366712013-02-11T19:55:00.000-06:002013-02-11T19:55:13.413-06:00Run-ins with hobos and such.
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<br />
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Feb 4<sup>th</sup> to Feb 10<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So far, this week has been rather uneventful. On Monday, I
went to the National Archives. That was pretty cool! Seeing the Constitution,
Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and other important national
documents was a bit surreal. Other then seeing those things and the grand
architecture, the National Archives was kinda boring. The Museum there wasn’t
too interesting. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Tuesday was
back to the grindstone. I had to get there right at 8 in order to go to the
morning briefing. Unfortunately, My second alarm did not go off, so I woke up
at 7:09, nine minutes after I meant to leave. That was the fasted I have ever
gotten ready and thrown a suit on in my life! I made it there around 8:05,
which was fine. That day, I worked on some truthPoint surveys, which is where a
staff member randomly selects patients around the hospital, 10 that are
inpatient, and 10 that are outpatient, and has them fill out a survey to see
how the VA is doing. That was not my cup of tea. Going up to random people and
asking them to fill out a survey is quite uncomfortable, especially when they
are cranky vets, which some were. That was just to gain some experience and see
what TruthPoint is, which is something we will have to interpret. Luckily, we
will not be doing that everyday.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Wednesday
consisted of drafting up a proposal to start an award program as well as
dealing with some issues. In Patient Centered Care, we deal a lot with
complaints, allegations against staff, and other negative issues that need to
be resolved. It is crazy to see how much drama there can be out there in the
real world! Luckily, my boss is awesome and good at resolving things like that.
She says the other intern and I will deal with that somewhat in the near
future, which is a bit unnerving. I feel like I have been in a sink-or-swim
training program since I have gotten here. It is quite a bit of a learning
curve. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thursday
was a lot like Wednesday when it came to work; we had to deal with the same
type of things. That afternoon, I went to the Union Station to grab a bite to
eat before I went to class at 6:30. While I was there, this man came up to me
and was like “excuse me sir, can I ask you a question? Well first off, are you
today?” I seriously thought he was one of those street evangelists who approach
random people and are like “DO YOU KNOW JESUS???” Instead of asking me that, he
said “I am homeless and was wondering if you could buy me some food? I don’t
want money, just food.” It really took me by surprise! He was dressed decently,
had nice athletic shoes, a good hat, and a manicured beard; I had a bad feeling
about it all, so I politely backed out as best I could. I liked that he asked
for food and not money, but there are so many programs and day centers for that
type of stuff; scavenging food at a train station is not the best way to do it.
I used the “I’m a poor college student” excuse for backing out. After I got my
food, he approached me while I was eating. I was in this hallway type of thing
with no one around, so it was kinda creepy. He asked “Hey man, remember me? We
talked upstairs and I asked you for food.” That added to the weird feeling,
because we talked on the same level, not a level up. I was like “yeah, man, I
do.” Then he asked “Can I have some of your food?” That really took me off
guard! I was just like “Sorry man, but no.” Then he just sat there for five
minutes and watched me eat. It was super creepy. I feel bad for not helping
him, but he gave me the heebie-jeebies! When I was leaving, I passed him again,
and I heard him cuss me out under his breath. It was quite the weird
experience! Class was pretty interesting! We talked a lot on clinical
interviews and the role of professional witnesses, mainly psychologists, in the
courtroom. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The weekend
was pretty good! My friend from RSU who lives near by now came to town, and we
went to Chinatown with some folks and had some great Thai food Before that,
though, we went to Piratez Tavern, which was awesome! The décor is pirate,
obviously, but what surprised us all and really made it awesome was the fact
that all of the staff dressed and acted like pirates! On top of that, some
regulars came all dressed up too, and they had a band that sang pirate medleys.
It was awesome!!! The food smelled good too, so I will most certainly go back
there. Saturday consisted a trip to the farmers market in downtown Silver
Spring followed by a trip to the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. That place
was jaw-dropping; there were so many real air and space artifacts there! I will
probably have to go back again. After that, my friend and I explored some of
the national mall and got some pictures of the Capitol Building. Sunday was
just a relaxing day topped of with the premiere of the Walking Dead with some
friends. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-73881223963039218922013-02-04T15:26:00.000-06:002013-02-04T15:26:03.476-06:00And so it begins...
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Just as a heads up, this first blog is a long one! The rest
should not be this long. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So far, I love the District. It is
full of life and diversity. You can tell that it is an international icon and
hub for business and travel. Getting here was quite the adventure. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I believe it is my first time
flying completely alone; I have traveled alone and without parents before, but
not quite like this. I had to get up at the crack of 4 oon Sunday morning,
which was terrible since I was wide awake until about 1:30 and excited like a
little kid on Christmas Eve; this time, however, I did not jump on my parents
bed and wake them up. I have been trying to quit energy drinks, but I figured I
would allow myself one that morning (and the two previous days under the banner
of “celebratory” drinks}. Got through check-in, security, and boarding just
fine, and had a short flight to the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. I made it to my
second flight with no trouble. My sister and I got good at what we call “human
parkour,” which just means weaving in and out of crowds in malls and densely
travelled areas; I have used that skill a lot on this trip. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyhow, I got on the flight, which
was about two and a half hours. I arrived in Reagan National Airport, picked up
my luggage, and began my strenuous commute from the airport to my residence in
Silver Spring, MD. I figured out, with the help of the station manager, how to
purchase my Metro ticket and where to go. I have done some traveling to other
places with Metro systems, so it was fairly easy to get down. I accidently got
on the wrong Metro line, but I found out that if I stayed on long enough, I
could switch to the Red Line, which was what I would have to get on from the
line I meant to get on, so it wasn’t really that bad of a mistake. I arrived at
the Silver Spring Metro and followed the directions to the Solaire Housing Complex,
where I am staying, in an email I received. It was about a half-mile walk,
mostly uphill. Lugging a hanging bag, suitcase, and school bag up hill in
slushy water with a thick overcoat on over a blazer and nice clothes was a bit
of a challenge. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I got there, got things squared
away with my room, walked around a bit, grabbed some coffee, and met my
roommate. So far I just have one. My other ones may or may not arrive. One is
supposed to get here sometime between now and Sunday, which is quite the gap.
Sean, the roommate here is pretty cool! He is from South Carolina; a group of
16 came from his university. Many of them live in these apartments, so I have
gotten to know a few. The rest live at the primary housing location, which also
is the place where the classes and meetings are held. That is where I have been
these past two days. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Monday was an overall orientation.
It was pretty typical. There are around 430 interns total representing 40
states and 17 countries. We had to sit in on different workshops and
information sessions about our programs and different civic engagements. I will
more than likely be working with veterans who have mental health issues for
that; the civic engagement project is essentially just volunteering. The one
with the vets fits in well for my degree, psychology, and my internship, which
is at the Department of Veteran Affairs, Patient Centered Care to be more
specific. I will get to that later. Wednesday afternoon was an open house with
workshops, so I went and grabbed some grub. On my way out, I ran into this
Chinese foreign exchange student who was looking for food as well, so her and I
went to a little café! It an interesting experience eating lunch one-on-one
with someone I have never met before, let alone someone from a different
country. She was really cool, though. It was a neat experience. After that, we
went back for more orientation stuff.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tuesday consisted of meeting with
my program, which is Science, Technology, and Society. We just had a more
program specific orientation and looked at what the next 15 weeks will be like.
The work shouldn’t be too hard. The group is one of the smallest of The
Washington Center with only about 20 people. Our advisor, Tiffani, ordered some
food for us from California Tortilla, which was delightful! Needless to say, I
chowed down on that stuff. We got out about 12:30 and had the rest of the day
off, so I explored the Silver Spring area. A decent mall, hotel, restaurants,
and shopping area are within walking distance to my apartment, which will be
very nice. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wednesday was actually my first day
at my internship. I left my place at 7:45, hopped on the Metro, got off at the
right station, got on a shuttle to the VA, and got there right at 8:30, which
is when I am supposed to be there. It worked out well. My supervisor, Diane, is
great. She is very laid-back, knowledgeable, and a skilled supervisor and boss.
The other intern, Lauryn, is really cool! I am extremely excited to work with
them both.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What I will be doing is pretty
cool. We will be working on different programs, like a Washington VA app for
smart phones, incentive and reward programs, patient advocacy, and just making
sure the veterans are comfortable and well taken care of. Today I had the
pleasure of meeting a 105-year-old WWII vet who was one of the first
African-American females admitted into the armed forces. She was delegated the
task of sorting out a mail room full to the ceiling of letters to soldiers in
Europe; her commanding officer said it should take her six months, but she did
it in three. It was a very surreal, humbling experience. She was a spunky,
one-legged lady who dresses up and looks nice everyday because she wants to
live life to the fullest and because she “just might meet a young, charming man
and wants to look good” she said. I am so honored and thankful for this
opportunity to work for and serve those who have been injured serving and
fighting for my rights, liberties, and freedom. The rest of my first day was
dwarfed in comparison to that experience. I just did some paper work, set up my
office, got acquainted with the building and personnel, and took a tuberculosis
test, which means I had Thursday off. Thursday night, however, I had my first
class. I will be taking Forensic Psychology whilst here; I’m pretty excited
about it! I don’t think it will be too tough.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Friday was my first real day at the
VA. I got some paper work for security and clearance stuff taken care of,
helped with some tasks, and had the privilege of attending the medical staff’s
grand rounds at noon! That was quite the treat. A surgeon did a presentation on
Narrative Medicine, which is an up-and-coming style of practicing medicine.
Narrative Medicine pretty much just means that the patients tell their story
and talk for a time without interruption while the doctors make notes.
Essentially, it is about doctors spending more times listening and getting to
know the patient to see if there is anything about their lives that might add
to the problem. It sounds like it should already be a common practice, but when
doctors are making their rounds in hospitals and clinics, two minutes of
listening seems like a long time. One thing that was brought up that I found
interesting is how they said that being required to fill out questionnaires and
paper work on their computers while seeing the patient takes away time and
makes it harder to do that. I believe the Affordable Healthcare Act makes it so
that the doctors have to fill out certain things while seeing the patients. It
will be interesting to learn more about Obamacare since I do not know that
much. Getting the perspective of doctors and people who work in the healthcare
filed will be interesting too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My weekend was quite fun! I met up
with an old friend Friday night. We went to Jumbo Slice pizza; the name was no
lie. The slices were HUGE!!!! You could put pretty much anything on it, and it
was bigger than a personal-pan pizza, but it was a slice. My mind was blown.
After that, my friend and I went to a latin-jazz club, which was incredible!
The cover charge was only $5. The band consisted of a pianist, a bassist, and
four percussionists who took turns playing the congas, timbales, bongos, and
small instruments like maracas and guiro. Being a drummer and novice hand
percussionist, I was in heaven. The environment was very exciting with people
salsa dancing everywhere, and the space was very warm and intimate. I will most
certainly be going there more often. Saturday was mostly filled with going to
the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, food, and watching some shows with
my old friend. On Sunday, I went grocery shopping, chilled, and watched the
Super-Bowl!<o:p></o:p></div>
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So far, my adventure has been
great. It feels like it has been a month already, and in reality, it has just
been a week. I will admit that for the first few days, I kind of wished I had
just taken classes at RSU; that was mainly because it was cold and dreary, and
because I had not made any friends yet. But now things are looking up! I feel
like this will be a fantastic opportunity for me to learn office etiquette, better
my verbal and written communication skills, advance my knowledge in several
areas, and help those who have served my country. Be sure to keep an eye out
for my next blog! I will try to blog consistently at least once a week.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-71156611886929630522011-12-07T21:55:00.008-06:002011-12-13T11:36:19.860-06:00<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683603460598466962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1VMNOuYPiJruEUxPzYqDBFEMMk9303EkceiIpqA1_oL-fEtYdb9l-WH8A54iEvv28GK7u-23b_jRpRMeCIRn0cNMGXjIhvxDfmMj8tJi4FGDYE5kaYbQ2uTmzXG23GEdpLUIRgMXtQ8/s400/IMAG0033.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Man, The Myth, The Legend Himself</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Getting Closer!</span><br />
<div align="left">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have had another amazing week in DC! I probably say that every time I post but it's the God Honest Truth. We had an awesome C-Span class on Monday and I was able to attend three separate events which were equally awesome. Before I share any related details, please indulge me for a moment as I share my feelings on leaving TWC.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have somewhat of a bittersweet feeling about going home next Saturday. Sweet because I am coming home to my amazing wife, who I have missed dearly. Bitter because of a nagging question I have. How do I take full advantage of the contacts I have made at the RNC and NRCC when I am finally able to enter the job market, which is still a year away! Here's how it plays out in my head. </span><br />
<br />
<div align="left">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I return to Oklahoma, after leaving a positive impression with those who could facilitate a political job in Washington, which is of course my ultimate dream. Yet, when I finally finish school next fall, Good Lord Willing, I no longer have immediate access to these gatekeepers. I will likely not even be able to get a return phone call. </span></div>
<br />
<div align="left">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Trevor who? Take a message, I'm busy." Back to the machine shop and power plants I go, like an old high school quarterback, constantly imagining what could of been. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I know this is somewhat dramatic and that I am responsible for my future. I guess I always try and prepare for the worst and strive for the best. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Okay, I'm done now, on to the past weeks events. </span><br />
</div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683603691145408066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXt_8mbldvfSWKPJ6_JgZ0I495HQJE5C6rtRoO29mxQLpFNBcBiBeitn-MtC-gn3f632sLemoPvnQEma6Rc6g1zhgJWUUkEpFIoyKOkJTqVtdEk85BP1naH4_XfnaW2FoNboVHjbWuuBM/s200/Aspen_group_Photo.jpg" style="display: block; height: 150px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 200px;" /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I mentioned previously, some of us attended a round-table discussion held at The Aspen Institute. It was really awesome. While I was there, I was able to meet Mickey Edwards. I am still not positive who Mr. Edwards actually is but he wrote for a couple of papers in Oklahoma and seems like a big deal. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683603964240469874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0ahH8GBVzwsbdxNL4EMAs9t58h-9VCFfQNSusFhyB_sb_f7pd0BIxnRcMncQphERVe_hq3m00LfCGrukTNyGAA_j09dy04d5zTX_SW94OOFeId2RUIvFzIEfdm2m-YWBF3G1nRR04vg/s200/Charlie_Cook_110511.jpg" style="display: block; height: 150px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 200px;" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is another cool pic from an event I was able to attend at Charlie Palmer Steak. It was the National Journal's Cook Political Preview. That is me and Charlie. The really neat thing is that all these events are free.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am getting ready to turn in my TWC portfolio and final research paper for the C-SPAN class, the apartment building is super busy and the computer lab looks like a war zone! It is full all hours of the day with people rushing to finish their projects. I am starting to get sad now, so I better finish this post before I get tear stains on it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is another pretty picture.....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683604298319542018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-2_7mQHd4Qg7HQjwSoSyr0WLjG1vv0r0BeXx5O8KY5KpiAaz0_2zauko8nCXUDeixhv071k8d40GiNr0ItW7R5eFh0p2yD_ftMd5867QwvOmz7UNSCflyzuZ_pKkR75er4RKu_HoZt3c/s400/100MEDIA95IMAG0346.jpg" style="display: block; height: 194px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 324px;" /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-82049111181485691222011-11-28T12:14:00.008-06:002011-12-08T13:44:36.491-06:00Here We Go<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680492845445128866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvALMUtWeJB0hFpFOUaaZNkLBD_WZkOMMRcgG-oElgzyMpsmEvUyt8u0gmIUEjFQ0mQbR4Me2WsZPxJNkkt0lbDJO3b2cEjwqmI6Zn0viRIR6gBKbQD8x2vayfCbZPZWIgp6eqCemZCZQ/s400/Me+n+Chuck+Todd+11282011.JPG" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Me and my buddy Chuck Todd from NBC News</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving day break, I know I did. My wonderful wife and the rest of her family all came to stay with me over the break. We all ventured into Virginia to see the sites. Here is how it went down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On Friday we rented a Ford Flex, which was pretty cool, and drove to Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate. I could not believe the amount of people there, it was like going to Disney World. It was a huge complex and was very interesting. We did not tour his home though, as I was not able to convince anyone else to stand in that line.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjriyL9iLbdB3bOCF3I4i24wZUHSmfihPIvK6qbO0JgE3D3lIO_eX4ahMsADwmWpvOjJxMdvhzW1fSLh9vT6fgs44fYUSRGVc6sj1w8V054ipPqR7rFDISjOv4SYZqGOf68RJb43lTBzCU/s1600/Mount+Vernon.jpg"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680494989202384162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjriyL9iLbdB3bOCF3I4i24wZUHSmfihPIvK6qbO0JgE3D3lIO_eX4ahMsADwmWpvOjJxMdvhzW1fSLh9vT6fgs44fYUSRGVc6sj1w8V054ipPqR7rFDISjOv4SYZqGOf68RJb43lTBzCU/s320/Mount+Vernon.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 184px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 365px;" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We then went to the home of our nation's third president and personal hero of mine, Thomas Jefferson. It was awesome!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGt8EjH1CmVSEEFEn06JQHG8fBlVvKlgXh0ljH7hECCYqA5U2j8WANn_NoLqdLBuT4H7BgpWmAHnd-3hfXCpQn1GpH7OE_e3hRDAY8Bofsy3jS2RiUuFlVHpsLjxGv0UyaGY6HFVUTKJ0/s1600/Jefferson+Home.jpg"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680501477928533778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGt8EjH1CmVSEEFEn06JQHG8fBlVvKlgXh0ljH7hECCYqA5U2j8WANn_NoLqdLBuT4H7BgpWmAHnd-3hfXCpQn1GpH7OE_e3hRDAY8Bofsy3jS2RiUuFlVHpsLjxGv0UyaGY6HFVUTKJ0/s400/Jefferson+Home.jpg" style="display: block; height: 131px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 218px;" /></span></a><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The week before last I was extremely busy with the Republican National Committee's Campaign Management College. We would start class at 8:00 am and finished up with our homework in the evening at around midnight. The final day I arrived at eight in the morning and did not leave until noon the next day. I do not think anyone slept that night. We had to write a complete Campaign Plan and present it to a panel of judges, which was really neat because they provided us with lots of good feedback.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I started my class up again on Monday at the C-Span building. Our guest was Tiffany Dufu who works at the White House. It will air in two weeks on the C-Span network and I was able to ask a lot of questions. I really enjoyed her.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our evening session was held at George Washington University in the School of Media and Public Affairs. They hosted a discussion with Chuck Todd, who is the White House correspondent for NBC news. I was able to get in the first question at the event, naturally asking him why the media is scared to cover the Ron Paul campaign. I was not to thrilled with his answer, but until I hear someone tell me that they have all agreed to not cover him because they are afraid of his "On with Liberty" message, I guess I never will be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On Friday of this week I am going to the Bipartisan Policy Center for a round-table discussion with the president of the Pew Research Center, a columnist from The Washington Post, and the editor of the Atlantic-Journal Constitution. My Professor, Mr. Steve Scully, was able to purchase tickets for four of his students and I was fortunate enough to receive one of them. Plus, a buffet lunch will be served which should be really tasty!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On Monday morning of next week I get to attend a discussion with Charlie Cook, who is a National<span class="ecxapple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: black;"> Journal political analyst and editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report. He</span></span> plans to discuss the current political environment, his outlook on the 2012 presidential race and the challenges and opportunities he sees for the major candidates moving forward. It should be really cool.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'll let you know how it goes!</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1146666590028256354.post-86765826943371178492011-11-08T12:58:00.011-06:002011-12-08T13:47:27.775-06:00Words of Wisdom: Getting Your Ideal Internship<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXAYMrRCnl0lFNWtdWqIVZvpqFbMdc7yHdFsTT5KwfdweeBWBeHR0hTFFJxmZfmXuTbkxEYMdZnIKbP-1JPsK0X_JIKHgtGPGhVvoN7lTt-OSwpEgWdGbOAsDxra6qZg5_AjQp9r1PJ8/s1600/Me+n+Fox_5.jpg"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672993291732914626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXAYMrRCnl0lFNWtdWqIVZvpqFbMdc7yHdFsTT5KwfdweeBWBeHR0hTFFJxmZfmXuTbkxEYMdZnIKbP-1JPsK0X_JIKHgtGPGhVvoN7lTt-OSwpEgWdGbOAsDxra6qZg5_AjQp9r1PJ8/s320/Me+n+Fox_5.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fox News asking for my take on Herman Cain's Speech at the National Press Club</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Like I had mentioned in an earlier post, I wanted to share my experiences with future TWC interns regarding how TWC Program works. The following is an account detailing how I was able to land my “dream” internship. It’s some very basic tips that I feel can be of use to future interns when they first navigate this amazing opportunity.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I first filled out my TWC packet, they asked me to list a few organizations I hoped to intern with. From the beginning, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) was always at the top of that list. The NRCC is the “nerve center” of the Republican Party’s campaigning operation for the House of Representatives. Since I know that working on a federal level campaign is one of my short term goals, this is as good an internship as it could get. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My first piece of advice to future interns is to have a general idea of what you want to do professionally, before the process begins. TWC will send your resume packet to sites they think may interest you, but they are extremely busy and cannot read your mind. Reach out and ensure they know where you want to end up exactly, and then follow up with calls and emails until you know your resume was sent to those locations. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I emailed TWC a list of House and Senate members that I would have liked to intern with, plus some other organizations, and then called to check that my packet was sent to them. My experience with the process was nerve racking, but my persistence paid off. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In July, I began doing phone interviews with various offices and organizations. One was with an Arizona Congressman’s office; working in Congress was my second “dream” internship site. I interviewed that morning over the phone. At the end, I was told they had twelve more people to interview and I might hear back. I was then offered the position that afternoon. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I attributed this, and the six other offers I eventually received, to the multiple mock interviews Kimberly Lopez conducted with me in the career services office at Rogers State. TWC offered a class by telephone-conference over the summer as well: How to Conduct Effective Phone Interviews. Take advantage of these resources. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, I did a few more interviews, some offered, some never called back, and some I declined. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
T<span style="font-family: inherit;">he AZ Congressional offer was the only one, thus far, I had seriously considered. What if I turned it down and no more offers came along? Where else did they send my resume? What about the NRCC? These questions were all going through my head in early August. My advice in this area is to let TWC know exactly what you want and bug them until your satisfied. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I declined the AZ offer thinking that if I was going to intern in the House, I should do it with a member from Oklahoma. TWC actually guaranteed they would place me with an OK office after I called to express my concerns. An offer did come and I accepted, even though it wasn’t the NRCC, but time was running short and I had gotten my second choice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The second week of August I was listed as “placed” by TWC. Their effort on my behalf was completed and I was complacent. Then the NRCC call came, asking for a good time to contact me for an interview. I emailed my available times and a message about how passionate I was to intern with them; always include a few lines on what a great intern you would be. The next week came and went, with no call! What to do, I wondered?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Email them again! I reminded them of their interview offer, another set of times for the next week, and another note about how great an asset I would be. Getting no reply I was disappointed, but at least I had gotten my second choice, interning with Congress. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Out of the blue the following week, I got the NRCC call and did an interview; I was completely unprepared and didn’t feel great about my performance. I sent a follow up email that evening,</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> listing what an asset I could be if offered the position. They offered and I accepted!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It all came down to letting TWC know what I wanted and following up with them. The same goes for everyone else who may have a hand in determining where you end up. It has been my experience that most everyone will go out of their way to help you, just don’t be afraid to ask!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0