Name: Gizel Gomez
Date(s): 07/08/24-07/14/24
Tuesday: 07/09/24
Made It To The White House
I had been trying to go to the White House ever since I got to DC. On Tuesday, I was finally able to go and do a self-guided tour. The line was long, and it was extremely hot to be waiting, but it was the White House, so we had to. After we got through security, we finally made it inside and immediately started taking pictures. There were many cool things and different colored rooms. I passed by the theater, the library, the green room, the red room, and quite a bit of other rooms. I was disappointed because I was expecting more, the tour only consists of a small portion of the White House and you finish somewhat fast. It was more about the experience and getting pictures of the inside.
After that, the interns and I returned to work for the day. I continued working on a brief memo about Great Minds in STEM and making sure everything was ready for the meeting on Wednesday. Later in the day, there was a Tri-Caucus event that we were required to attend, so I left work a few minutes early. The event involved the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS). It was a networking event for all of us to get to know each other and hear from the presidents of each caucus. All three presidents shared some inspiring words, and we had the honor to hear from congresswoman Judy Chu, the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress. The event was great, I enjoyed talking to those in different programs and learning about their experience in DC.
Wednesday & Thursday: 07/10/24-07/11/24
Great Minds in STEM & Telework Thursday
The meeting I had been writing a memo for was happening on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the USDA interns were at the department for a networking event, so I went for a while. I knew almost all the interns there, but I still had the opportunity to talk to other people working in the Department of Education but in different offices. I had to leave early to escort the Great Minds in STEM staff up to the 7th floor. Another intern and I met them at the entrance and took them up to the meeting room where Melody, the Executive Director for the White House Hispanic Initiative (WHHI), would meet them. The meeting was very informative, I learned about their upcoming conference and the different participants that will attend. They talked a little bit about their organization and the different programs, workshops, and opportunities they offer to underrepresented communities.
This week, Thursday felt like a Friday because I worked from home. The whole day I worked on my speech that I'll be giving at the Annual Director's Meeting (ADM), next week. I'll admit that even though the speech is about me and my story, it's not so easy to put it all in writing. I had to revisit old biographies and personal statements to ensure that I was writing down key points. Not only that, but I truly took a trip down memory lane, remembering my journey over the years and how my life has progressed. Later in the day, there was a meeting with the WHHI, so I had to split my time and attend it. I only work 2 days with the WHHI and 2 days with the Office of Migrant Education (OME), so sometimes I must figure out how to handle both. After work, I had a check-in meeting with Cristian from CHCI, where we talked about how my internship was going and what I hoped to do in the remaining time. The rest of my day I just continued to study for the HESI, in hopes of passing!
Friday: 07/12/24
ADM Prep
Instead of having a virtual Friday, I met with the OME staff at the Potomac Center Plaza. Since the director's meeting is happening soon, we went for a walkthrough of the area. It was more so we could check the audio, the big screens, and locate things nearby. Also, I finally met my supervisor in person, I'd been having virtual conversations with her but never had an in-person interaction. As we were testing the audio, she recommended that I practice my speech standing on stage and using the microphone. I went over to practice, but it wasn't easy, I was nervous. Once we were done walking around the building, we decided to find a conference room and work from there instead of walking back to the office. For the rest of the day, I gathered all the materials we'd need for the meeting and organized everything for the day of. I also reviewed the agenda for the 3 days and wrote down a couple of talking points for another speaking moment I get on Wednesday. After I was done working, the countdown to New York began.
Saturday: 07/13/24
New York City Trip
After wanting to go to New York for weeks, a couple of us finally made it happen! My day began at 1 AM when I woke up to get ready and catch the bus leaving at 2:20 AM. I had only slept for a couple of hours, but all I cared about was arriving in New York. We arrived, and it was raining, and it only kept raining harder. Our first stop was Liberty Bagels, where they had different cream cheese flavors and lots of different bagels. We couldn't do much in the rain, so we stopped at a coffee shop until it somewhat went away. The busy day then started, we walked around the streets where we passed by the Harry Potter Exhibition and got a close view of the Empire State Building. We had somewhat of an itinerary, so we took the subway over to the World Trade Center, where we located the 9/11 Memorial. It was saddening to see all the names of the victims and just imagine how tragic it all was. After, we went to buy ferry tickets to pass by the Statue of Liberty. The bus took us to the pier where we waited for a while until departure. Everything was amazing, and the host was funny and informative about the area. On one side we could see New York and on the other, we could see New Jersey.
Lunch was in Chinatown and from there we walked halfway through the Brooklyn Bridge. There were people everywhere, taking pictures and admiring the scenery, just like us. Central Park was a quick stop, we sat down for a while and then went to explore really fast. We didn't stay long because we had tickets for SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, and the commute was 20–30 minutes. The SUMMIT was a tremendous experience, they gave us shoe covers because most of the floors are only glass. We got on the elevator and the lights flickered while we heard a voice in the background and the doors opened up to a light. The first floor we went to was shocking, it felt like I was hallucinating for a second. Everywhere we'd walk there were tons of reflections and the view of the city was amazing. All the floors we visited had a unique layout and a beautiful view! We stayed there for quite a while and our last stop was Times Square. It was nice to see the enormous billboards and the crowds of people, but we tried to get out as soon as possible because it was late. After walking all day we were all exhausted and headed to the bus stop to come back to DC.
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