Introducing Heather Jane Moore

Well, my name is Heather Jane Moore. I come from a small town in Connecticut. It’s the type of place where you pretty much know everyone and their business. I would say the exact opposite of Washington DC. haha.

Washington DC...When I say or think about the city name it brings about so many different ideas and feelings. When my friends heard about the internship I was applying for and the city I would be “deserting” them for each one of them had different advice and words to share. The frequent commentary seemed to based around three general themes. “Wow, there is a lot of crime there, BE CAREFUL!” [thanks, mom!] was number one on the list. Then, “You’re going to meet a great man to date and have tons of fun down there!” was the second. Last but not least people said, “You are going to learn a lot--take advantage of it.”

I thought about DC in some kind of mixture of all three. Crime? What crime? We moved in right behind the police station! So far I haven’t found very bad parts of DC, but I have not wandered off too far yet. The housing that TWC provides and area it is in are insanely beautiful. As for the great men… well there aren’t any yet, just a bunch of friendly interns. As for the last comment it appears that I am already learning all types of information to guide me in the right direction.

Going entirely back to the beginning now, when my professor recommended The Washington Center program to me, I never imagined it would be like this. The initial process of picking a topic to write my essay about all the way to my phone interview with my [hopeful] internship advisor was nerve-racking to say the least. I just kept hoping that my application was good enough to get me a rewarding internship. Through it all I ended up with an internship I desperately wanted at the NESA center/National Defense University. However, during the whole process there was a lot of doubt. For a vast amount of time you do not know where you will be placed, what class you will get into, and who you will be living with. These were all great stressors to me but it worked out well in the end. The Washington Center really hooks it up with a place to live, especially if you are coming from a dorm. On move in day I was singing that theme song from The Jeffersons… “Movin’ on up! To the East side- with a deluxe apartment in the sky” haha. No, but seriously check out the pictures. There is a really nice view from the apartment.

Unfortunately for the first few days during orientation I was extremely ill and feeling a bit down. As I lay in bed I kept thinking, “How am I going to be able to navigate the Metro?” “Will I be able to find the grocery store?” Today, however, as I walked back from the grocery store, with my new friend Casey, in the warmth of a Sunday evening, I really appreciated where I am. In this short weekend, I have met people from all walks of life, from California to Florida, each one of us as eager as the next to see what opportunities await us. There is such a clever bunch of people here. I can not wait to hear what all of them have to say about the places they come from and what their plans are while they are in Washington. I was initially worried that I would not know anyone and would have to go this alone...boy was I wrong. My roommate, well, I definitely got lucky; she is a doll. Before all the work started we were able to spend some time at the mall and by the pool (the sun is super strong here!). I was a lobster for my first day at work. I guess that it was not too bad though because it hid my red face when I tripped over a step in front of another intern. haha.

I have a tip to offer and I am not sure if I will be doing it every week but I feel that this is important. I would suggest that when you come to the TWC you take advantage of the orientation days to talk to as many people as feasible. Get numbers. Get lunch. Get connections. Make a little network for yourself as early as possible. It will really make a difference in your quality of life while you are here.

Well here goes nothing… I’ll leave you with some pictures. You can definitely expect more!!

This is my first taxi ride alone. Apparently I am pretty excited over it.

This is me my first day at work with my face still red from the day before.

A couple of the guys I intern with on the way down to the Metro after work.

This is that sick view I previously mentioned.