The Element of Surprise: I Took an Internship I Knew Literally Nothing About and Am Having the Best Time

When I began my internship search for the Summer, as all stellar students do, I began my search through googling, “cool DC internships.” (Cast a wide net and see what you catch?) I began dreaming of all the awesome things I could be doing this summer, like hanging out with Barack or becoming an acting Supreme Court Justice. Alas, I could not find application portals for either of those positions and instead, I was connected to an opportunity with the Department of Commerce. On first thought, I was like sure, yeah, I like the economy and stuff, and beyond that, I knew little about U.S. trade. Even throughout the interview process, I admitted to my future team that I knew almost nothing about their major projects or achievements but I was very willing and eager to learn. The worst part about trying to explain to my friends in Columbus that I was interning with the Office of Standards and Investment Policy at the International Trade Administration within the Department of Commerce was that I could barely explain it using proper terminology and was told on a few occasions, “what are you talking about? That office really doesn’t exist.”

Well jokes on them, because it does exist, and I do work there, and it’s great. On my first day, I was bombarded with new acronyms: MRAs, NTBs, ISOs, and SDOs. The first week, I spent most of my time running in and out of meetings and googling new terms and information on my phone in hallways between those meetings. I felt like I was learning a week’s worth of information every day. Now, just over a month in, I finally feel like I have my bearings in my office, and have just scratched the surface of understanding how the complex machine that is The Department of Commerce works. I have gained respect for how much standards in trade touches every person’s life in some capacity every day. And, I also have gained an appreciation for the breadth of knowledge that my team has; every day is so different and they are able to talk knowledgeably on so many issues. In one day, we will talk about building codes in Africa, food security in the APEC economies, textile trade in Canada, wine trade in the EU, and ICT technologies in the ASEAN.

When I started talking to other WAIP students about their internships, I wondered what my summer could have been like if I had taken an internship where I was more familiar with the content. I realized how lucky I am that I had forced myself to try something new. My father once told me to never take or stay in a job where you feel comfortable, because if you feel comfortable with what you are doing, you are no longer growing. A few weeks ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into; however, now, I’m falling in love with the excitement and diversity of my work and am hoping that I never get out. (Also, massive shout out to the best resources I have ever had: Google and Economics in Minutes: 200 Key Concepts Explained in an Instant by Niall Kishtainy. Thanks for the support).

Disclaimer: I am currently 100% more confused about my career path will look like than I was five weeks ago, and I am increasingly becoming okay with that.

- Merritt Ogle