After a
great trip home to Texas, I returned to work on Monday morning. I have to say,
I wasn’t real excited to be back, especially after I had been in Texas for a
few days and I am definitely counting down the days until I get to come home.
It’s not that I don’t like DC, it’s just that it’s not Texas and I’m ready to
be home. I really have enjoyed my time here and I have gotten to see and
experience more than I ever thought I would. This internship has been great for
me and I’ve had a blast, but I’m just about ready for it to be over and I can’t
wait to return to the Lone Star State for good!
On Tuesday, I got a really cool
task. I was asked to take a bill down to the Republican Cloakroom at the Senate
Floor, so it could be entered into the record. I had never been down there
before, and it was really awesome to be standing just outside the doors which
lead to the floor. The task was really pretty simple and not very exciting for
most people, but I thought it was pretty cool. On Tuesday night, Hope took all
the interns out to dinner and we got to eat at the Old Ebbitt Grill with her
and some UNT alumni. I enjoyed the dinner and conversation, even though I
arrived super late…sorry Hope! (And thanks again for dinner)
Wednesday morning I had a meeting
with Congressman Bill Flores before work started. Congressman Flores represents
Burleson, where my permanent address is, so he is technically my hometown
Congressman. I met him over in the Capitol Visitor Center at 9:15 (I had gotten
permission to go to this meeting and arrive at work late) and got to introduce
myself and speak with him for a few minutes prior to a meeting he was
attending. He had a staff member there to take a photo of us together, which
was emailed to me later in the afternoon. I enjoyed getting to meet Congressman
Flores and was thankful that he took the time to see me. Later in the
afternoon, I finished scanning and emailing in all of the paperwork for my
lease in Lubbock. After apartment shopping with my roommate during Accepted
Students Weekend at Tech, we picked a place that we like and I got all the
paperwork taken care of during the first part of the week. It feels good to
have a place set up and I feel that much more ready to move to Lubbock and
start school this fall!
Thursday wasn’t very exciting and
gave me nothing interesting to talk about. Friday, however, was one of the
coolest days of my internship to date. Lieutenant Doug Ivanac (the Navy
“fellow” who works for Senator Cornyn) has been a great friend this semester
and has really given me a lot of great information about life in the Navy and
the path to becoming a Naval Officer. He’s given me a lot of advice and helpful
tips and has let me work on several research projects related to military
issues which I’ve really appreciated. Friday, however, he really went the extra
mile for me. Doug knows I want to be a Navy JAG and he found out through a
friend of his in the liaison’s office that a Marine and Navy JAG were going to
be on Capitol Hill for a briefing. They were Captain David O’Toole, USN (the
Chief Judge in charge of Navy/Marine Corps trial judiciary) and Colonel John
Ewers, USMC (the commanding officer for all Navy/Marine Corps trial
litigators). Doug invited me to a lunch with these two officers and gave me the
opportunity to meet my first real life JAGs. I cannot even describe how
incredible of an opportunity this was for me and how truly blessed I am to have
been able to do this. JAG officers are almost inaccessible from outside the
military and the likelihood of a college undergrad ever getting to meet with
one is microscopic. To be able to have lunch with TWO JAGs (especially two high
ranking JAGs like these) and have the opportunity to ask them questions and
hear their advice was simply priceless! I really owe Doug big time for this one
and this one thing alone makes my entire internship here worth it. While I’ve
gotten to do a lot of great things here, this was possibly the most important
to my future and the most beneficial to me individually. I really can’t even
describe how great this was!
Saturday morning, dad flew into town and I met him at the
airport. We went to do a Capitol Tour, then hit up National Mall and museums,
as well as the Lincoln Memorial. We saw a movie Saturday night, did more
sightseeing on Sunday, and then went to church on Sunday night. Dad had never
spent any extended time in DC before, and had only been here while working. He
had never been to Capitol Hill or seen any of the sights before, so it was
great to be able to show him around and spend the weekend hanging out with him.
He also paid for everything and took me out to eat at real restaurants (like
Macaroni Grill), which definitely beat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
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