My final two weeks in DC went by even faster than I thought they would. On Tuesday (the 24th), we had our final constituent coffee event, where visitors from Texas get to come and take pictures with the senator. Then, at around noon, the senator invited all three of the interns into his office and met with us briefly to say goodbyes and thank us for working this semester. Kris' last day was Wednesday which is why we did this so early. We each got to take a picture with the senator and talk with him for a few minutes, thanking him for the opportunity to work for him. On Wednesay, we had a meeting with the Chief of Staff (Beth), which was kind of like an exit interview. We got to talk to Beth about her job and what it means to be a C.O.S., and she asked us about how we liked the internship and what our plans for the future were. We hadn't got to see much of Beth this semester because she's been so busy and is not someone who's really that accessible to interns, so we enjoyed this time to speak with her and made the most of it. We wound up talking with Beth for a little over an hour and really had a great conversation. Chiefs are normally very busy people with a lot of responsibility and its rare to get that much face time at once, especially if you're just an intern. I really appreciated her taking the time to meet with us like that and make sure that all of our questions had been answered before we left. After the interview concluded, the day was over and we said goodbye to Kris, whose internship had come to an end. He is headed back to UT to start his senior year of undergrad and hopes to go to law school next fall. I'm sure we'll keep in touch in the future.
That Thursday I got a really awesome chance to staff a meeting with the senator. Senator Cornyn was meeting with Texas filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and I was asked to do the background and draft a meeting brief for the event. Mr. Rodriguez is the director of films such as Desperado, Spy Kids, Sin City, and Machete. He is an independent filmmaker who works with small crews and low budgets, but produces blockbuster movies. He works out of a studio in Austin and shoots his movies in Texas and Mexico, not Hollywood. His movies always employ at least a few latino actors/actresses and usually involve some kind of latino theme. The meeting was to brief the senator on a new tv network that he will be launching on Comcast next year, featuring latino themed programming and actors on English speaking shows. I found Mr. Rodriguez to be a very innovative, bright guy who was very nice and I especially enjoyed the opportunity to sit in on the meeting as part of the senator's staff. I also loved getting to meet my first movie director!
This Tuesday, I did a Capitol tour for a group of middle school students from Texas. I had never done a tour for students before and the experience was a little bit different. These students were an all-girls science team from a San Antonio middle school who were in DC to compete in a national competition. They were the first all-girls team in the history of the competition and they placed 16th in the contest (which required them to build a working model of a hydrogen-powered car). I hate to say it, but I'm pretty sure these 12-14 year old girls were smarter than me! Lol.
Wednesday, I did my final Capitol tour, this time for a group of immigrants from Mexico. It was kind of sad knowing that I was leading a Capitol tour for the final time and also knowing that I was seeing the Capitol for the final time as a staff member. When I come back in the future, I'll just be a normal tourist and will no longer have a special badge to get access to all the cool stuff...unless of course I come back to work here! Wednesday night I said goodbye to Christopher, my roommate for the last four months. While Christopher will be staying in DC to get a long term job, he was headed to his brother's house in Richmond, Virginia for an extended weekend. Since I am leaving on Sunday morning, this would be the last time I would see him. I think saying goodbye to him was what really made me feel like the end was drawing near and this awesome experience was about to draw to a close.
Thursday and Friday absolutely flew by and were over before I knew it. On Thursday, Doug took me out to lunch to talk military and JAG one last time and give me his final words of advice and encouragement. He had a lot of great stuff to say and I really enjoyed getting to spend that valuable time with him. I'm going to miss the people here the most and especially him. He has been such a great resource for me and answered so many questions, even questions I didn't know I had when I came up here. Fortunately, I still have his contact information and I have a feeling that we will be in touch in the future. He even encouraged me to keep him updated on how my future was progressing and let him know if I had any more questions or needed anything else in the future. I really can't express how grateful I am to have been placed in an office with a naval officer and to have had the opportunity to get to know him over the last four months. This internship has been extremely beneficial to me in a lot of ways and this was definitely one of them.
Friday came and went and I found myself spending the later part of the day saying goodbye to everyone, which was really sad. I really am going to miss all of these people who have been so nice and helpful to me and have made me and the other interns feel so at home in their office. I could not have asked for a better office to work for and I going to miss all of the friends I have made here much more than the job or the city itself. I have been truly blessed to get to know them and work with them and I can't imagine having done this internship anywhere else.
Finally, I left the office building for the last time and the internship came to a close. I no longer have a badge (or a job) and I have to admit that it feels kinds of weird. I spent my last Saturday in DC feeling just like any other tourist. I got up today and went to the Library of Congress, which I had been meaning to get around to and promised myself I would see before I left. This place is absolutely incredible and they have so much there! 3,000 volumes of Thomas Jefferson's personal library, the first map ever to mention America by name (made in 1507) and so much more! The building itself is unbelievable and I really can't believe I waited until my last day to come here. I spent about an hour and a half walking around just taking everything in and was a little overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge contained inside those walls. It's the largest library collection anywhere in the world and it truly is an incredible thing! I feel like I could literally spend days inside that place and never get bored. Again, too bad I waited until my last day to see it!
After the library, I took the train over to Arlington, Virginia and went to visit the Arlington National Cemetery. I chose the cemetery as my final site to visit on purpose. After spending the last four months working for Congress and seeing how our government works, I wanted to spend my last day reflecting on the sacrifices of the men and women in uniform that have enabled us to have that government. Getting off the subway and walking up the approach to the cemetery I tried to mentally prepare for what I was going to see, but I'll admit that you can't really understand that place until you lay eyes on it. Going in, you of course understand that it is a cemetery, but it's much more sobering than any other cemetery in the country. While I have been in many cemeteries before, I have never had the same kind of feeling that this one gives you. The knowledge that all the tombstones you are seeing represents a soldier, sailor, marine, or airman who died for your freedom bring on an overwhelming sense of awe and respect. It really is an indescribable, humbling sight to stand on top of the hill in the center and look around at the breadth of the cemetery. Every direction you look, spanned over a number of hills, are thousands and thousands of tombstones. That image hits you hard and makes you really think about the significance of that place. As I studied it, it occured to me that this was the price of freedom...this is the cost that had to be paid to maintain our democratic government and our free society. After seeing President Kennedy's grave and the Tomb of the Unkown Soldier (the Old Guard from the Army's 3rd Infantry walking their post is a really incredible thing to experience), I spent almost two hours just walking the paths and reflecting on the graves. The experience was truly humbling and awe-inspiring, unlike anything else I've ever done. It really made me appreciate what the brave men and women in our armed forces have done for us, and continue to do today.
My time in DC is now complete, and I head home first thing tomorrow morning. I'll be back in Texas at 9:15 am and I really am excited! But I'm also a little sad to be leaving such an incredible place as this. This internship has been the opportunity of a lifetime and one of the greatest experiences of my life so far! I am truly grateful to have had the chance to come here and I have seen and learned so much in the last four months! I would like to thank UNT for giving me this chance and especially Senator John Cornyn for agreeing to take me. I can't say enough about how great of a guy he is and how hard he works on behalf of his constituents in Texas. I am honored to have worked for such a noble and honorable man and I would highly recommend his office to any future UNT interns thinking about applying for this program!
I think I'm going to post one more time after getting home, just to mention some final reflextions and speak a little about some of the things that I learned, so be looking for that post in the next few days. I graduate one week from today, on Saturday May 12th, and I am eagerly looking forward to that! This internship was the greatest way I can think of to finish college and complete my education in the real world. It's really been a blast and I could not have asked for more. Thank you all for reading this blog and I hope that you have learned something by following my experiences and adventures here. I can't wait to get home and see you all again!
Sincerely,
Drew
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