Sunday, August 7, 2022
By:
On Tuesday, we held our final DnD session, which was terrific. We played on the lawn of the Lincoln Memorial so we could play and watch the sunset together. We all had a good time and agreed to try and play with each other virtually during the semester. I hope we keep that going to stay in contact with each other.
On Thursday, we held a rehearsal for the presentations and got feedback. As a result, I was able to make final adjustments that I think made the difference for Friday. After the rehearsal, I met my mother and sister, who were visiting for the presentations on Friday. They helped me pack and move out of my dorm room that night. What I did not pack went to intern boxes for next year's interns. Even though packing was a challenging task in the middle of the storm in D.C., it was nice to sleep in my own apartment that night and spend time with my family.
On Friday, we finally gave our presentations. It was nerve-racking up to the point I gave my presentation. Once it was over, I was finally able to breathe and relax. Afterward, we all agreed to one more happy hour at our favorite restaurant and said our goodbyes. It was hard to have those last conversations with everyone, but it was a last great night.
On Saturday, I spent the day exploring D.C. with my family since my sister hadn't been here before, and it had been years since my mom had visited. We went to the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian, the WWII memorial and paid our respects at Arlington cemetery. It was a great day with my family, and I am super happy they were able to visit. It was the first time they could visit and see where I have been living and working for the past 2 years. I hope they visit again soon so we can see D.C. together again.
This was a tough week with the presentation and the end of the internship. Since last week I have been working hard on preparing the presentation. I revised it multiple times after getting feedback on it. After so many hours, we finally presented on Friday, which was bittersweet. Yes, I finished the presentation, which has been stressing me out this week, but it was time to say goodbye to everyone. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone later that night. I have spent the past 10 weeks getting to know every one of the interns, and it felt like I was leaving part of my family. We held many game/movie nights and potlucks and went out to explore D.C., which made the summer so fun. I wish all the interns the best of luck with school or work after this summer, and I hope to see everyone again soon at Physcon!
I would like to thank SPS for accepting me into the internship and making it unique. Also, I want to thank Brad, Mikayla, and Kayla for everything they did for us. For assigning us so well to our programs and setting up some of the events we did this summer. Everything they did made the internship so fun and couldn't have been done without them.
Finally, I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Nimisha Kumari, for everything she has taught me this summer. I learned a lot and can't wait to use it in future endeavors. I had a lot of fun working with you this summer; thank you for everything!
Anthony Olguin