“When
in doubt, don’t.”
-
Ben Franklin, inventor of the bifocal and 6th President of
Pennsylvania
Somewhere
during my experience in WAIP, I sized up what my experience in DC had been like
in comparison to what I had anticipated coming into the program. My trip to
Washington was a lot longer than an 8 hour car ride from Ohio to Capitol Hill,
and was filled with some risks and hard decisions along the way. In those times
when tough choices presented themselves, when the future wasn’t so clear and
the next steps I took would affect my life’s direction, I had doubts.
Reflecting on those moments of hesitation, I made up a checklist of the
reservations I had had about my preparedness and ability to transition into the
next chapter of my life.
Some
items were checked off the list right away. Am I pursuing what I want to do
with my life? Just being in the capital and applying what 3 years of study had
convinced me I wanted to pursue as a living meant so much as a student and aspiring
public servant in affirming that a career working for the benefit of my fellow
Americans was right for me. Check. Am I cut out for government work? My placement
at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission put me in the company of people
who had come from all walks of life to work in the federal sector. Every project,
every meeting, every day spent working for them was constructive and reassuring
my talents and skills honed at the Glenn College ready for the working world.
Check.
Other
worries were more deep-seated. What if I’m behind the people I’m working with?
What if I picked the wrong placement? What can I bring to the table when I’m
going into this program with way less experience than some of my peers? Some of
these concerns came from the simple fact of becoming a part of the WAIP cohort
with Glenn Fellows that are similarly driven and focused like me, but with diverse
backgrounds. It took a good amount of time living with these people, spending
night after night talking about our hopes, goals, and the day-to-day grind of
interning in DC, and sharing in the jammed-packed WAIP experience that, if you’re
reading this, is either triggering some serious PTSD or giving you some anxiety
about what you signed up for. Any of you in the latter, don’t worry. It’s worth
all it’s cracked up to be. Check.
It’s
not in my nature to be the glowing optimist, and I know that tough times ahead
in my final year at Ohio State are going to give me doubts about what’s in my future
again. But, every doubt checked off my list of worries for having participated in
the Washington Academic Internship Program represents a new sense of confidence
I have in whatever steps come next towards my career in public service. I could
have been anywhere in the world this summer, but I made my way to Washington
with WAIP, and that made all the difference in how I see myself as a student of
Public Affairs and young professional.
For now, I'm ready to be back home in Ohio. If the opportunity comes around again, I know a door is open to come back and work in Washington.
- Dan Pozniak
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