Week 1
This summer I am interning with USAID General Counsel’s Office, and I could not be more excited about the opportunity. As a joint degree student, I am pursuing a J.D. as well as a master’s degree in public policy with a concentration in international development. USAID’s General Counsel’s Office is the ideal blend of the two degrees, and after just one week working in the office, I know that I am exactly where I should be this summer. Within the office, I will be working specifically with Ethics and Administration (EA) and Legislative and Public Affairs (LPA). This means that I will do substantive work dealing with federal employment law as well appropriations law. Unfortunately, given the sensitive nature of the work that I will be assigned, I will not be able to share much more about my day-to-day. However, I will continue to post about life in D.C. and what I can about my experience as an Intern with USAID.
On that note, I have quickly gathered that government employees speak a different language. Adjusting to their use of acronyms in casual conversation is reminiscent to my first weeks trying to pick up basic Bahasa in Indonesia last summer. The attorneys I work with are quick to fill me in, however, and they promise that the acronyms will soon be commonplace in my vocabulary.
Given that I have only been here for a week I do not have much else to share about the experience quite yet, so I will take this opportunity to say what a privilege it is to work at this level in the Untied States Federal Government. Anyone who knows me knows that working for the government is a dream of mine, and I am absolutely thrilled to contribute to the essential global development work that the United States of America continues to do. Additionally, the timing of global events (namely China’s Belt and Road Initiative) makes U.S. soft power all the more critical. While my role may be minimal, I look forward to supporting the greatest country in the world in any and every way that I can.