Sunday, August 7, 2022
By:
This week, our last week, was both exciting and emotional. I spent most of work finishing up bill summaries and practicing my presentation again and again and again. I also listened to others give their presentations and we all gave each other constructive criticism. I think the best part of this expansive process was that I could recognize how everyone’s unique perspectives contributed to different opinions they had on every presentation. I really appreciated everyone’s feedback and it definitely made my final presentation better.
The final presentation was exhilarating. I really felt like doing every internship after hearing everyone’s presentations!
Over this internship, all the interns really bonded. We worked well together, both in moments of celebration and in moments of seriousness. This was especially evident on the last few days, when we worked together late to pack the boxes for the next interns.
This summer was unforgettable, and I had so many new experiences. Here are a few:
-my first midnight walk around the monuments
-my first time walking through a flash flood (don’t recommend)
-my first time going to a club
-my first time seeing a corpse flower in bloom
-my first time reading congressional budget documents
-learning about Microsoft Access
-my first time making scones, cinnamon rolls, tortillas, and more!
-my first baseball game
-my first time meeting a nobel prize laureate
Most of all, I am grateful for all the people that I met this summer. I know that I have forged life long connections and, as Brad put it, am now part of the SPS intern family. Thank you all for a great experience. And if you are a prospective intern reading this blog post and wondering whether you should apply, do it. It will change your life.
Matangi Melpakkam