Imagine after a long day researching in your fabulous gray cubicle, you hear the phone ring while you are excitedly packing up your things. Most people would probably let the call go to voicemail but since I'm the intern and nobody ever calls me, I curiously answered the phone. In that conversation with the front office, I found myself agreeing to be a speaker for an upcoming event where I will not only give a short speech but introduce the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Meeting Arne and sharing my higher education story was hands down the most exciting and fulfilling event of my internship at the U.S. Department of Education (ED).
I love my experience with the intern program at ED this past semester. They had three staff members dedicated to our career development and government engagement. I learned so much about the federal government and the agency through office hours, intern outings, and weekly brown bag lunches. Even though my division is located not at headquarters but on K street, I still made sure to attend as many events as possible.
Sometimes structured activities can only provide so much and oftentimes I followed through with brown bag speakers, who best match my career aspirations, for informational interviews. This was where I found out about all of the rich fellowships and programs I could consider as post-graduation plans. This was very crucial insight to know of various feasible, best-matching options to return to DC.
Other times I had to be very assertive to engage and learn about ED. My personal experiences with federally funded educational programs directed my inquisitiveness to get to know the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) better. It is from this and other engagements I made to connect with several staff memebers that eventually led me to the incredible opportunity to speak in front of OPE and to introduce Arne.
Former WAIP fellows highly encouraged me to take advantage of all the resources and people available during my time in Washington and I'm so glad to have followed their advice. Future WAIP fellows should try extra hard to network and follow their curiosities. It provided me with such clear ideas of paths to pursue and removed some stress when seeking that next endeavor after graduation.
- Amber Seira | @amber_seira
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