Meet and Greets

One of the perks of this program is having the opportunity to meet a variety of important and significant people. While being in DC I have had lunch with OSU President Gordon Gee and Senator and Mrs. John Glenn and I am hoping for a meet and greet with Speaker John Boehner before I leave. Of course every time I am walking back to work after these lunches I call my father to tell him who I just spoke with to make him feel jealous (it works every time). I also, along with the other students in the program, go on a Facebook picture posting frenzy to show all of my friends. My dad is always baffled as to how I am able to meet these important people. I have to reiterate to him that the Washington Academic Internship Program is a relatively new and important one to Ohio State University especially within the John Glenn School of Public Affairs, so the supporters such as Dr. Gee and Senator Glenn want to see how the program is doing.

These men are not the only prominent figures our class has met. I love catching up with everyone on Friday mornings to hear about what their weeks have been like and who they have had the honor of meeting. It ranges from ambassadors to the Supreme Court Justices to heads of distinguished agencies and even sometimes celebrity advocates! Sometimes it feels like DC is its own kind of Hollywood (scandal included). You may not know who is everyone is at first, but after spending some time here you start to realize the important jobs these people have. And then after speaking with them you realize they are normal people who never really planned on being in their position. Almost all of them are very down to earth and willing to spend a few minutes to talk with you despite their busy schedules. If it’s one thing I’ve learned in DC it is take full advantage of these meetings because some may be once in a lifetime. On the other hand it could lead you to a job offer down the road. You just never know who you’re going to meet and where it can take you.