Tuesday July 9th, 2024
This morning I was thankfully able to sleep in because I had been asked by my supervisor, Ray Serrano, to attend an event that the National Hispanic Council On Aging was holding. He would be speaking on a subject that I have come to know very well, which is the epidemic of diabetes that is ever so prevalent within the Latino community. Esme also was invited by my supervisor so we attended the event together! There were several speakers at the event who posed interesting perspectives on the situation, as well as the legislation behind major health issues that affect Latinos. I was able to speak with Dr. Cruz a bit more about her opinion of the epidemic that is taking its toll on Latino health, and she gave me some amazing insights into the questions that I had asked.
After the event, some of the other interns and I rode back to the office where we all separated into our research groups. I got to work on one of the assignments that I had been given, because I wanted to be able to do as much as I could before I needed to leave. I ended up leaving LULAC a bit earlier than usual because of the Tri-Caucus event at the Madison Building that CHCI was going to attend. I met with Esme in the front of the building as we had gotten there a bit earlier than usual, and we were able to wait in the, thankfully, air-conditioned building! Once the event kicked off I spoke with interns from both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies! Everyone had their own story that seemed to be even more interesting than the last, and I was able to meet people from all over the U.S. territories which was AMAZING!! I was also fortunate enough to meet the representative of California's 28th District, Judy Chu! She was an excellent speaker at the event, and an even kinder person to interact with. After the event, I was able to chat with some of the people that I had met on the metro ride home and then I fell asleep as soon as I hit my bed!
Wednesday July 10th, 2024
Today I woke up extra early to proof read a presentation that I had been assigned last week, and made sure to iron out anything I saw that needed to be adjusted. After making myself a breakfast that consisted of huevos con chorizo with avocados & rice, I got ready and made my way to work! Once there, Michelle and I looked over each others presentations to give feedback as well as seeing what the other had done. My presentation was on several of the administration websites and the research information regarding Latinos that they provided. I combed through each one thoroughly to be able to give an in-depth analysis of what each website I had been assigned could offer.
Thanks to Michelle, I was able to make sure that the information I was giving was even more clear and concise than before. We spent the majority of the day making sure that what we had achieved was what was being asked from the information that we were given. Once the day was over, I stopped at Captain Cookie on the way home to get myself an ice cream cookie sandwich, and got home to rest!
Thursday July 11th, 2024
I decided that waking up early to work for only one day wasn't good enough, so I did it BACK TO BACK! This time, however, I was trying to finalize the information for my research paper outline. The deadline was Friday and, not wanting to miss it, I was locked in from dawn till dark making sure that I understood the importance of including anti-obesity medications in medication formularies. I was going through the various impacts that this has on Latinos and health, and the more I found, the more I had to dig to understand. I ended up eating some burritos for breakfast and getting ready for work. As I got to the office, I saw that all of the other interns were in the same boat as me! All of them had their own assignments and were diligently working to make sure that what they had was as good as they possibly could get it!
During lunch, we realized that it was 7/11 and that the convenience store would be giving out free slushies!! So a large group of us ended up leaving to get slushies, and we all came back with color-stained smiles on our faces! Some of the interns and I got Chinese food for lunch, and it was actually really good!! The rest of my day, however, was spent at my computer reading about Latino diabetes information. Once the day was over I took the metro home, and got to bed!
Friday July 12th, 2024
Today was the deadline for my outline so I got to work as fast, and early, as I could! I made sure to pack myself some sopa de fideo that I had made in the morning for lunch so as to not lose time looking for something to eat later on. In the morning, I gathered all the information that I had found so as to not have a disorganized mess of tabs and links! From there I started to write an outline of how the way the paper would flow. It's much easier for me to able to write a cohesive argument when I can actively write out the flow of what I want to present to my audience. I went idea by idea, and it seemed like nothing I was thinking of would work.
But after lunch, it seemed like everything started falling into place! I think it may have been the rain pouring outside that helped so much. I began structuring the paper on a Word document, and piece-by-piece I was able to put together the outline that had taken me so long to come up with! As the day finished, and my work completed, I got to the metro to go home, but the metro was actually delayed! So instead of standing with the droves of people that were on the side platform, I chose instead to walk home! This was actually an amazing decision because I was able to enjoy the cloudy day, and listen to music that made me think of home. Once I got to my dorm I made some fajitas with bell peppers & mushrooms for dinner, then after cleaning up, I got some rest!
Comments