Sunday, August 5, 2012

A Reception with Ambassador Glassman


The internship experience I have had this summer has been nothing shy of extraordinary. Ambassador James K. Glassman has been such a wonderful person to work with, and having the opportunity to hear him speak at the reception on August 2nd was a great way to bring this summer to a close. I am proud of the work I have completed this summer and from him I have learned so many incredible things. Being a strategic communication major, his wisdom on effective communication and its importance was very relevant for my degree. In relation, he continued on to discuss his insight into Public Diplomacy 2.0, which is allowing many to work together and have all their thoughts and opinions heard, rather than Public Diplomacy 1.0, which is one person speaking to many, or preaching as he referred to it.

Most importantly, his beliefs on Public Diplomacy and proper communication are two things he exemplifies every day in his work at the Bush Institute. I find this very commendable. Often times people will lecture about what they think, but it isn’t always how they conduct themselves. With the Ambassador, this is simply just not the case, and that vital characteristic has been one of the reasons my internships has been so great. Although he is my supervisor and I do complete daily intern duties, more significantly, he has been a teacher, and taught me valuable lessons for my future endeavors.

Overall, I was honored that the Ambassador was so enthused to speak for the other fellows, mentors, and supervisors. Both him and his wife have helped make my experience in D.C. so amazing, and something I will forever look back on. They have both been incredibly supportive of the Washington Academic Internship Program as well as encouraging of my goals and future aspirations, and I was grateful that they were able to celebrate the culmination of such an amazing program with me. Having the opportunity to share with everyone else why I have enjoyed my time working with the Ambassador so much and what an extraordinary mentor he has been made for an incredible event.

-Ariel Cohen 

No comments:

Post a Comment