District of Columbia, You Will Never Be Forgoten - by Mawa Konate

Although my time in the district as a Washingtonian is almost coming to an end, the memories, people, projects, study tours and work I got to experience is something I will never take for granted or forget. This is only the beginning for me. I got the opportunity to work at my favorite agency, Peace Corps, I got to participate in the grassroots level of some of the amazing work Peace Corps volunteers are doing and changing lives in 61 countries. In my class, I got to understand our foreign policies and relationships that the U.S have with other nations, how to understand the problem of the failure of international aids and avoiding those failures in the future in my policy paper. As the 2017 Ohio's Cherry Blossom Princess, I got the unique opportunity to present my state and university, got a better understanding of our relationships with Japan and Japanese culture and how can we move forward as a nation. I had the privilege to visit the Japanese ambassador to the U.S at his residence where he held a dinner and reception for the princesses. All of these opportunities were possible because of our late Senator John Glenn, being a Glenn fellow provided me with all of these professional experiences, networking and learning opportunities. Meeting with senators or members of congress from my state and other states is an opportunity I will cherish for life, having the opportunity to visit the African American Historical and Culture museum at a time like this was meaningful and close to my heart, I got the opportunity to travel to space while on earth at the Lockheed and Martin Space Center. Going on a tour to the Pentagon, NPR, the White Castle, and much more. Policy salons were held every week and learning from other WAIP alumni or professionals in their respective fields were nourishing and encouraging; listening to various speakers on panels, seeing what worked for some and what did not work for some was inspirational and helped realized what will work best for me or not work for me with my career aspirations. One thing I have learned with my time here is that DC is like "Hollywood for ugly people", referring to the importance of NETWORKING, you never know who is who so never burn bridges and remain in contacts with your connections. I have learned a lot and as they always say, “no one really leaves DC”, and with that said, District of Columbia, this is a see you later, not a goodbye.