Sunday, June 2, 2024
By:
Hey, I didn’t see you there! My name is Jenna, and I am the Mather Public Policy Intern at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) this summer. I am from the greatest state ever, New Jersey, and I attend High Point University in North Carolina! The first week has been exciting and scary. However, over the next ten weeks, I can hope that the scariness goes away and that more exciting things will happen!
Sunday started a long and eventful week. The day started with an hour-long wait to check-in. I finally made it to my room and met my roommate, Sonja! My parents helped me move my things in and get settled in. We had some lunch to celebrate the start of my internship and then said our goodbyes. The day ended with Sonja and me talking and getting to know each other.
Monday was pleasant and relaxing since it was Memorial Day. Since we had the day off, Sonja and I went to Target for groceries and other needed items. I took the rest of the day to relax and read my book. Later in the night, most of the interns and I hung out in someone’s room playing card games and got to know each other a little more!
Tuesday was a little stressful but overall exciting. It was orientation day, and all of us interns had commuted to the American Center for Physics (ACP). There, we had our orientation and professional headshots taken. A few of us played bocce ball on the roof and spent our lunch chatting with one another. I had to leave orientation early to make it to NIST in time for my fingerprints to be done. Just before I was about to leave, I realized I had forgotten my second form of identification! I took the metro all the way back to the dorm and headed up to NIST to make it just in time before the office closed! Once everything was handled, I met with two of my coworkers/mentors, Kimmai and Brad. I had a little orientation at NIST, and before I knew it, I was back on the metro, heading back to the dorm. A few interns and I ended the night with a trip to the National Mall to play Spikeball, except we got caught in the rain and had to walk up ten flights of stairs.
On Wednesday, I returned to the long NIST commute and began my first official day in the office. I met some incredible employees and was given a short tour of campus. I was assigned my first mini-project and couldn’t be more excited to start. I went out to lunch with three coworkers and another intern, Charlotte! Later that night, a few interns and I went to a bar for Astronomy on Tap to listen to three astronomy talks!
Thursday had to be the longest day ever to exist. It started with a fire alarm going off at three in the morning and another walk up ten flights of stairs. I had an early morning meeting, so it was already an early wake-up call. I met my capstone mentor, Susan, and got the official rundown of my project (let’s say I am thrilled for this summer). I attended an all-hands-on meeting and met employees in other divisions at NIST. It was interesting to see what everyone was working on in the building. When I returned to the dorm, all the interns met for dinner in the dining hall and shared some laughs. The night ended with one of the interns, Johnny, and I heading to Trader Joe’s, where I watched him calculate every single price per ounce of smoked salmon and then take everything out of his backpack because his milk started leaking all over it!
On Friday, six of us headed to the ACP office to get some work done! We tried our very best to be productive, but occasionally, someone would start talking, and the conversation would continue. We played some bocce on the roof again and got back to work. That night, a few of us went to an art exhibition and then got together to play some games and have a lot of laughs.
Now, that leaves us with the last day of the week. We headed to the National Mall on Saturday afternoon to play Spikeball and football! It was a lot of fun to run around and laugh. That night, my roommate and I had a few people over and played card games like the classic Go Fish (thank you, Johnny).
It was a pretty eventful week. This ten-week journey has been an exciting start, and I am ready to explore what this city and internship have to offer. As Taylor Swift once said, “Baby, let the games begin.” So, are you ready for it?
Jenna Mastropolo