The New Washingtonian by Mawa Konate

        New Year, new home, new roommates, new internship, new classes, new opportunities, a new chapter and most importantly NETWORKING! Everything is NEW for this Washingtonian! On January 7th, 2017 at 3:35 pm, I became a Washingtonian, well at least for the next few months. I was very excited for this new chapter of my life and what an interesting time to be in the District of Columbia! Within my first weeks here, I had the opportunity to visit Alexandria, Virginia, where I toured the old town. The town is filled with so many histories. I visited multiple museums on this day the Apothecary Museum was of them, fortunately, this museum had all of the original products from the 1960’s that the pharmacy produced and sold. Although most of the liquids had evaporated, all of the solids were still present. On January 21st, I had the opportunity to participate in the Women’s March, where I marched for over eight hours with people from all over the world. This march was motivational and inspirational, seeing women and men from all walks of life marching for beliefs and issues they are passionate about, things that move and keep them going daily, was truly moving for me.     

          My time in the district thus far has been great, I had the opportunity to meet and greet many Ohioans in the city. Network with professionals in the city. From all of the policy salons and panels we have had thus far, advice every Washingtonian will tell you is to network; it is one of the most valuable skills that will land one a dream job or a job that will lead to your dream job. Never underestimate the power of networking and you connections. You never know who is who or who will become who one day, so go on out and network! At my internship site, it gets even better because I am working at the headquarters where one never knows who will be visiting the agency that day! Being a John Glenn Fellow has opened doors for me to not only strengthen and enhance my leadership capabilities, but it has been giving me real world experiences every day thus far, and it forces and pushes me to do better every day. As president John F. Kennedy said, "It is not about what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country" in his speech on the day the Peace Corps was founded, and what an honor and privilege it is to say that I intern at the Peace Corps! Where every day I walked through the double doors thinking of what can I do for my country! Four weeks down! And eleven more to go, and I will cherish every single day like I have for the past four weeks.