First Impressions: Starting the Internship and Getting Adjusted in Arlington
This first week has been an absolute whirlwind. On Tuesday, I moved into my summer apartment in Arlington, Virginia. On Wednesday, I began my internship for at the National Center for State Courts, International Programs Division and attended my first summer legal networking event. On Thursday, I visited the William & Mary’s D.C. office. On Friday and Saturday, I explored further into the D.C. Metro Area.
Now that the weekend nears its end and I look to my second week, I am able to reflect clearly on the past couple days. While busy, I feel that the summer is off to a great start. Move-in was a bit hectic, but I have interned in the D.C. Metro Area before, so I am fortunately familiar with the area. I am living in an apartment with three other gentlemen, all working as interns. We are working in different areas ranging from education to engineering to law, so I am thankful to be able to chat with them about a wide variety of topics.
I leave my apartment each morning, hop on the metro, and travel to the other side of Arlington for my internship at the National Center for State Courts, International Programs Division (or NCSC International for short). I am one of two legal interns, with the other being my William & Mary Law classmate Xiang. We also work with an undergraduate intern who will be handling some of NCSC International’s non-legal projects.
During my three days of interning so far, I attended an orientation on the NCSC International internship program, met almost everyone working within the division, and received my first project assignment. I am excited that the internship will include a variety of tasks, such as working on international rule of law projects, assisting with internal legal matters, and attending outside educational events. In fact, the first outside education event involved meeting with an NCSC International consultant during our first week, and we have a trip to the United State Supreme Court coming up.
I am also doing my best to pursue some of my own personal, non legal-related goals this summer. I am trying to read at least five new books this summer, and I am nearing the end of the first book. If you have any suggestions for my next book, let me know! Tomorrow, I will embark on a “two months of fitness” challenge with a college friend. We will be trying stick to a moderate exercise regime throughout the months of June and July. During the summer, I am also going to do my best to get back in touch with some old friends that are now living in the area and hopefully attend some college alumni events.
With so much coming up on the horizon, I will most definitely have some interesting blogs posts as the summer progresses. I am excited to report back with another post soon!