Behind the DCenes: I am writing to inform you

Dear Washington Center Hopefuls:

I am writing to inform you that this is my last week behind the DCenes. I know. I know. It is sadly tragic. I will miss me, too. I am sure you won’t miss me too much, as is the way of this evanescent town. The stars that twinkle the brightest are those that fall and fade the fastest.

Enough poetic heartbreak. *tear*

I have begun the long and arduous project of job searching. I, who may be younger than a lot of interns, still have two years of school left. I am just looking for what possibilities might be open to me now that I have this experience under my belt. Never hurts to aim high, eh? The only way to hit the duck is to lead it a little bit. Mayhap I can even land some sort of part-time as some sort of pseudo-paralegal. Never hurts to try. I am also already working on what I want to do next semester. I was very fortunate in that some money came through from my school at the last minute in the form of a scholarship/grant. So now I can use this summer (unpaid though it was) as a springboard for my next great adventure. Since I got a head-start on things, I am able to take the information that I learned here and apply it forward to what I might want to explore down the road. I think I will put to use that finance major--try to get into some international micro-financing. I have some peeps out here that are going to help me apply around.

However, the more “typical” intern (being the graduate or the senior) has many triumphs to share. Many organizations hire interns that are close to graduation; they try them on like a glove, and if they fit by the end of the summer, they get a job offer. I can say that at least two of my Law and Criminal Justice friends have gotten job offers from their internship sites. I think the law enforcement field in this area is always ripe for recruitment of criminal justice majors like this. So, prospective interns, you might want to keep that in mind. Now, I can’t say as much for pre-law students. However, work hard, keep a smile on your face, and I can guarantee a few strong references, which as we all know as we start to apply to law school, might come in handy.

Let’s talk portfolio for a minute. Nothing too much to say on it that I have not covered previously. I would recommend asking your supervisor if it is permissible to print off the requisite two copies on the work printer. You could save some dough that way if you can obtain permission. Also, you can get your portfolios bound at the absolute last second, because FedEx Kinkos is on more corners than Starbucks and it is open 24/7. It only takes 5-10 minutes to bind the portfolio and it’s around $10.

This week has been a fun one. My friend from St. Louis was supposed to come up to visit on Friday, but he flew through O’Hare (Chicago) so naturally, he didn’t make it here on Friday. Well, he came with practically no sleep, only to find out that I had to do an overnight at a women’s shelter his first night in town. What a great host am I, no? So we ran around town and visited the Natural History Museum to see the gigantic primordial sloth. Then we ate in Chinatown. That seemed to be a hit with my friend. I think he has eaten like 3 meals there in two days Chinatown is a fun place to eat. The selection is good and diverse. I recommend trying it out.

We did the overnight at the shelter; very uneventful. We just played checkers, cards, and Scrabble. The most fruitful portion of the night came when we devised a new version of War that was inspired by Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker. Wow, can you tell we were tired?

The next day we ran around again. The highlight of the day was definitely running around Georgetown. That is a fun part of the city. It is so quaint. The shopping is very fun and trendy, if you are given to such things. We checked out the Georgetown campus-man, it is gorgeous. It is situated up on a bluff, shaded by trees, and dominated by glorious masonry. Boy, I would like to go there for law school. They receive 11,000 applications for 300 slots every year. Think I can get in with my practice LSAT of 158? Haha! It’s not funny…

Why were we out on that side of town? Well, we were going to see those famous stairs from the movie The Exorcist. Then something strange happened…