Interning in Washington, D.C. has been quite an experience. Just being here changes your perspective on the way our country is run. It does not take long to see the hustle and bustle of the city and the urgency that everyone has to meet the demands on their time. This is especially true on “the hill.” It is amazing the things that you can see, even just walking around the city. Just last week I saw the President of the United States, twice! The first time I saw him was at the President’s Dinner, one of the big fund raising events for the Republican Party where many of the Republican Representatives and Senators are in attendance. That was quite an event. The second time is kind of a cool story. I like to run and I don’t think there is any place better to run in the country than on the National Mall in the middle of Washington, D.C. The Mall is where all the monuments are located, including the Washington Monument and the Capitol building. I was running back from the Lincoln Memorial towards the Washington Monument when I saw a large group of Secret Service agents huddled around 16th and D streets, right next to the reflection pool where Martin Luther King made his famous “I have a dream speech.” I decided to stop and watch what was going on. The Secret Service was keeping people back as a crowd started to form. Everyone was speculating what they thought was going on, but no one really knew. Not even ten minutes passed when the roar of a helicopter came overhead. Sure enough, Marine One helicopter landed 100 feet from me and President Bush stepped off waving to the crowd. That was probably the most unbelievable run I have ever had.
I intern at the Pentagon, which is a pretty cool thing in itself. The constant focus on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan makes you really appreciate the job we have there and what our troops are sacrificing for our freedom. I am interning with Defense Secretary Gates’ speech writing group. We have been working on several speeches he will be delivering soon and to be a part of that is a great experience. One of the things I am working on is a project that our office started called Heroes in the War on Terror. The program finds different members of the armed forces who have fought bravely in the War on Terror and writes their story. I just finished writing a story about a truly inspiring Marine. If you get a chance, check out www.defenselink.mil/heroes and check out Major Doug Zembiec, the Lion of Fallujah. It’s an extremely inspiring story of a Marine who courageously fought and died for his country. I would also encourage you to check out all of the heroes on the website. They deserve everything we can give for what they have done for our country.
In the Writers Group, we also work closely with several other divisions in the Pentagon including the Press and Media, which means you get to meet some pretty famous people. Just today, I was at a press conference with Charlie Daniels, the famous country music artist, where he was presented a medal from the Department of Defense and the Defense Secretary for his continued support of the troops overseas. It was pretty neat to shake his hand and get his autograph. Who knows, maybe next time it will be Toby Keith or Carrie Underwood.
I am also currently working on volunteering for an advance trip with the Defense Secretary. These trips set everything up for the Secretary before he arrives to give a speech or attend an event. The advance team sets up the press and media, attendance, security, arrival and departure, and many other things for the Secretary before he arrives at a location to give a speech or attend a function. Hopefully soon, I will be shadowing the Director of Advance for the Secretary of Defense and possibly going on trips with them. Not bad for a summer intern.
Even simple things in Washington, D.C. can be pretty surreal. Every day, I walk to the metro on my way to work and every day I see a different building that is home to another government agency or department that you only read about in books. For example, just blocks from our apartment are the Department of Interior, Department of Labor, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank Group, and several embassies. Not even two blocks from our apart sits the White House where I run past almost every day. From our rooftop balcony, you can see nearly every monument including a spectacular view of the Washington Monument, the Pentagon, General Lee’s house atop the hill in Arlington National Cemetery, the Old Executive Office Building, and in the distance the Capitol Building. Just last Friday, we were on the roof top balcony and fireworks were going off over the Potomac River on the Virginia side. It was awesome.
The other thing about being in Washington, D.C. is the people you are around that you can get in contact with. Last Friday, all the KA interns had a luncheon with several other KAs that work in Washington. The luncheon was held at the offices of Meyers and Associates, a lobbying firm in Washington. The President of Meyers and Associates is Larry Meyers who was the Number I for the Gamma Chi chapter at Texas Tech University, which is the same chapter where I am a brother. Mr. Meyers and I joked about former Knight Commander and Gamma Chi Chapter brother, Dr. Idris Traylor, being Mr. Meyers’ little brother while Dr. Traylor was pledging. I mistakenly made Larry feel old by saying Dr. Traylor was more of a mentor to me than a little brother and we all just laughed it off. We asked the KA alumni questions about working on “the hill” and what kinds of opportunities are available for young students like ourselves in Washington, D.C. They stressed the importance of taking internships if you really want to work in D.C. in the future. The luncheon was great and I thought it was truly amazing to find KAs at their level of their careers still wanting to help young brothers of the Order.
Nightlife in Washington is great too. Georgetown is by far my favorite place to go besides maybe our rooftop balcony. There is also a restaurant on the top of Hotel Washington that has a great view of the White House and the Washington Monument. This place is especially good for dates. It even has a bar with a view for after hour’s drinks. So far Washington, D.C. really has been a blast. Something exciting is always going on here. Meeting all the other interns and students has been really great as well. D.C. is the melting pot for students from all over the country. For example, in my office there are two girls from California, a girl from Washington state, a guy from upstate New York, and a guy from North Carolina, to name a few. On our apartment hall there are students from Michigan, New Jersey, and Connecticut. We met three girls from Georgia who are friends with Bryan, and then every day we meet even more people from different places. It is really great to meet so many different people and hear them talk about where they are from. People hear that I am from Texas and they always give me a hard time that “everything is bigger in Texas.” I never argue with them and just smile as big as I can.
-Chris Huff (Gamma Chi – Texas Tech ’05)
