Nearing the end...

As my ten weeks in Washington comes to a close, I continuously find myself reflecting on the summer and wondering where the time has gone. I realize that may sound like a cliché, but truth be told, it is entirely true. I can guarantee you that from the day you arrive in Washington, you will just want time to slow down. Of course, this is dependent on your own attitude.

If you decide that you want to make the most of your time here, and that you are going to make the best out of every opportunity, then my guarantee fits. If you choose an alternate route, I have no words of wisdom for you, as that's the way I chose to approach my D.C. experience. I am compiling a list of “do’s and don’ts” for my final post that will better address this issue; however, let me share one really big one with you now. It is simple really and it happens to be another cliché: expect the unexpected.

I can promise you that there will be things about your trip to Washington that you will not have anticipated and may catch you off guard--for better or for worse. The most important thing I have learned from this summer is to roll with the punches (sorry for all of the clichés today) and view everything from as many angles as possible. If you go into your internship, your Washington Center class, or even your civic life expecting one and only one outcome, you will be caught off guard. I know I was. I had this image ingrained into my mind of what Washington was going to be like, how my office was going to operate, how class would go and what I would do with my free time. As I try to remember back to that initial anticipation, I honestly cannot recall what that looked like in my mind.

You should approach your upcoming experience with a positive attitude and view it as a valuable experience not matter what the outcome. Of course there are going to be things about your time here that you will not enjoy, or you may be unhappy with, but if you focus on what you can ultimately take away from the experience, you will have made the most out of the situation. My internship is a perfect example; we had this huge media tour (13 cities in 10 days) planned for the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather rematch and a few weeks before we were to leave, Mayweather retired. Can you imagine my disappointment when the whole thing was cancelled? And again, next week I was supposed to go to New York to a press conference for another fight. Again, one of the boxers had to postpone it because of an injury, so of course the presser was cancelled. Both of these are big unexpecteds, but I have tried to take something positive from the experience; you have to do that to keep your time here relevant. Roll with the punches.

I think that is enough Dr. Phil talk for this post. Moving onto something lighter, this past week has been a fun one. The Affliction: Banned event that my company was working on was a huge success last week. The Honda Center in Anaheim sold out and the gate sales totaled over $2 million. My work on this project was to provide support to my boss and supervisor (who were actually at the event in Los Angeles). I had compiled a media list, which I used to send press releases and media alerts regarding the pre-fight events as well as the fight itself. There was way more behind the scenes action than I ever imagined.

On Saturday, I went to an Orioles game in Baltimore, which was very exciting. I am not an Orioles fan but I was for the night as they were playing a team from my division, the Tigers (I am an Indians fan). Camden Yards is a great ballpark with a unique backdrop and I would probably have to say it is my favorite MLB venue so far. The game was absolutely crazy. The Tigers jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first and the Orioles came back to tie it. There were 3 more lead changes and by the 9th inning, the Orioles tied it again sending it to extra innings. They won on a walk-off home run in the 10th. It was my first extra-innings ballgame and it was absolutely awesome. I am still hoping to be able to make it to a Nationals game before I head home.

That is about it for this week. I hope I was able to provide you with some insight that may be valuable towards your upcoming time here.

Until next time…

.e

The Capitol, The White House & Serena

This week I chose to delay my post a bit because of my schedule. I had so many exciting activities to do that I wanted to be able to share all of them with you. This has probably been my most productive/exciting week or ten days in Washington. As I mentioned in my last post, I traveled to Ocean City, NJ for the July 4th weekend, which was an awesome experience. I found myself thinking about how we get too caught up in our day-to-day lives to appreciate our friends and family let alone the historic places in this country. During our trip to O.C., we passed through a very small town in Delaware where they were having an Independence Day parade. This was definitely small town America as the parade consisted of no stoplights, a fire truck, a police car (possibly 20 years old) and some horses. However, [apparently] the whole town turned out for the five-minute trip down Main St. For a moment I honestly forgot what it was like to be from (at least for the summer) a thriving metropolis.

Monday I completed a portion of our TWC requirement by conducting my informational interview. For those of you who are just considering The Washington Center, you will have to do the same. Through a friend of mine (who used to work at the White House), I was put in touch with Margaret Hoover who is the great-granddaughter of President Herbert Hoover. If you wiki Margaret, you will find that she has served as a deputy press secretary for a Florida Congressman, worked for the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and is a Fox News contributor. Margaret was more than kind as she took nearly an hour to speak with me about my potential career and the steps that she has taken to get where she is today. I came away from the interview with a firm understanding of the path I may need to take should I choose a similar career. Needless to say, the interview was extremely beneficial.

Tuesday, I went with Kelly, my boss at Swanson Communications, to an event in downtown D.C. One of our clients, The Southeast Tennis Learning Center had teamed with World Team Tennis for the inaugural season of The Washington Kastles. The Kastles are the newest franchise in the sport where tennis meets football or soccer. The fans are encouraged to cheer and make noise, which is different from your grandfather's tennis. Serena Williams is the most notable player for Washington and again, it was quite the experience to stand on the same court as her. While I did not get to meet her, a ball from her hit me. She knocked the ball across the court; the other player missed it, and it bounced off a planter and nailed me in the leg. Of course I kept the ball, I find it to be quite the conversation piece.

Wednesday, I attended a breakfast with my Senator, Max Baucus, on Capitol Hill. You may know that back home I interned for Senator Baucus and while I had met him before, it was definitely an experience to be able to speak one-on-one with him. If you are into politics at all, I would urge you to do the same. It is my understanding that every U.S. Senator has these breakfasts and all you have to do is call their office a few days prior.

Following my breakfast with Senator Baucus, I went on a group tour of the Capitol Building, which was completely captivating. We were not able to go into the chambers because at the time of our visit they were in session, but we were still able to see quite a bit. En route to Capitol Hill, I passed the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. They sort of snuck up on me and I found myself fascinated at their size and design.

Yesterday, I finally was able to take a tour of the White House, which has turned into the highlight of my summer thus far. Again, if you are interested, just contact your Senator's office but you should do so quickly because often you may have to wait three to six months. While you really do not get to see that much of the White House, it is still quite the experience to walk down the same hallways and through the same rooms as our Presidents, past and present. You are not allowed to take cameras into the White House but cell phones are allowed so of course I had to bend the rules a bit and was able to snap a quick picture on our way out.

Finally, my placement with Swanson Communications has been interesting this week. Our work on Affliction: Banned has been fairly intense and seems to be coming to a head as the event is now less than a week away. Unfortunately I will not be able to go to L.A. for fight week but I have been told that we are about to begin another project. While I am not exactly sure what the new project entails, I am told that a media tour is involved. It looks as if I may be able to go to New York but am still unsure about the other cities. As my time here in D.C. winds down, I am constantly looking for ways to remain as involved and relevant as possible. I want to make the most of the next four weeks and build on the knowledge I have already gained.

While next week does not look as packed, I think it will still be rewarding mostly because I will be participating in my civic engagement. I have decided to volunteer for John McCain headquarters. I do not want to get too into depth about my political beliefs in this post (that post is coming soon), but I consider myself to be an independent and that being said, until recently I was undecided on whom to support. In the past couple of weeks, I have developed some serious concerns and issues with Obama and unless those are resolved before November, I cannot see myself voting for him. But again, more on this soon… now is not the time, although I will give you one tip; you know how they say, politics and office do not mix? Well there is a reason they say that, I would definitely heed those words. I look forward to sharing with you next week and hopefully you are gaining something from my experiences here in Washington.

Until next time…

.e

We the people

I don't want to make this week’s post about my internship, but rather about the city that has come to inspire me. I will briefly discuss the weekly topics just to give you an idea of my progress, but I want to focus mainly on the spirit of this Independence Day week.

In my earlier posts, I mentioned that Swanson Communications has been retained to promote the Affliction: Banned MMA event July 19th in Anaheim. Our progress on this event has allowed me to gather a more firm understanding of the behind-the-scenes action in the making of a "mega-event." I have come to learn quite a bit in the last week or so; there is so much more than I could have ever imagined. My main task has been compiling a media list for the event so that we can inform the appropriate contacts around the country of Affliction: Banned in order to receive coverage. Sometime this week we will send out a press release to this list and then the real fun begins. I am excited for the week of the fight because it is jam packed full of interviews, conferences and promotional activities that I can only hope will reflect the hard work and effort we have put into this.

Back to D.C. itself. Appropriately enough, this week has further inspired my American pride. I do not think there is anything quite like D.C. and Independence Day. Unfortunately I will not be in Washington for the 4th, as we are going to Ocean City, New Jersey, but just walking around town this week, I have seen an abundance of American pride and love of country that I do not think I have seen anywhere else.

Of course you can tell the tourists who are here for the celebration because they are all wearing American flag shirts or a red hat, blue shirt and white shorts. As corny as that may sound, you cannot help but smile when you see it because it is definitely quite the demonstration.

Everywhere I look, I see something that reminds me of the history of this city and this great country. After visiting the Department of the Interior earlier this week, I walked a few blocks over to The Washington Monument where I got a crazy awesome view of the city.

After visiting the Monument, I walked up 15th Street, past the Treasury and many other historic buildings. I ended up stumbling upon the site of the very first political campaign which made me think about all of the people who have passed through these same streets only years before. Certainly my path has crossed one they once took. Surely I have been standing in a place they once stood. If you care to think about that sort of thing, this city gives you plenty to ponder.

Moving on, this next week promises to be absolutely chaotic… in a good way. Tuesday I will be conducting one of my informational interviews with Margaret Hoover (President Herbert Hoover’s great-granddaughter). Wednesday I am having breakfast with my Senator, touring the Capitol building and having dinner at the Washington Center. Finally, Thursday wraps up the excitement with my long awaited, much anticipated tour of the White House. I am expecting next week to be a blast. I look forward to telling you about it.

Until next time…

.e