The end… but only the beginning…

With my final days in Washington now behind me, and only memories to guide me, I write to you today to let you know what to expect from your time in D.C. My time in our nation’s Capital was intriguing, educating and invigorating. I honestly learned more than I ever could have imagined and will take home with me a vast amount of knowledge that I believe will benefit me for years to come. I have also had the opportunity to meet so many great people, many of which I truly hope will be in my life for years to come.

My final week in Washington was perhaps the best of them all. My internship with Swanson Communications reached its pinnacle at a seemingly appropriate time; when I had gained as much knowledge and learning experience as possible. On Tuesday of this week, I was able to travel to New York City and Philadelphia for press conferences to promote the upcoming Bernard Hopkins vs. Kelly Pavlik bout in October.

I traveled with my boss, Kelly Swanson, via train to NYC where I was able to see first hand the behind the scenes action that goes into that 30-second clip you see on SportsCenter. I have an unhealthy fascination with New York so it was awesome to be able to get my fix of the Big Apple. After our press conference, I was able to ride in the same Escalade as Bernard Hopkins and his entourage. I cannot explain to you how crazy cool it was; you want to talk about access!

After boarding the train at Penn Station, we traveled to Philadelphia for the second press conference. Again, the experience was extremely valuable and I could not be more grateful to Kelly for taking me along. The whole day made my summer. This week, I also made a point of going to the National Zoo just to check it out. If you have this opportunity, take it, it is a pretty cool place.

Thursday was not only my last day at Swanson, but also my birthday! Kelly took us all out to lunch at a nice restaurant near McPherson Square. If I could remember the name, I would recommend it to you. I believe it was “Mama” something or other (or maybe Miss Bee’s?).

Friday was a relax and pack day for me, I tied up some loose ends in D.C. and attended the McCain Volunteer Appreciation Night in Arlington. There was an awesome turnout and we were treated to a little surprise during the evening. Senator McCain’s Campaign Manager, Rick Davis was speaking to us when his phone rang. Unexpectedly, the Senator himself was calling so of course, Mr. Davis put a microphone up to the phone while it was on speakerphone. It was a small surprise but enlivening none-the-less. If you have the chance to volunteer for a political campaign, no matter what your views, take it. The experience of serving a cause greater than one’s self interest is honestly a humbling and awesome feeling.

Today, I said goodbye to my family who have been so accommodating and understanding. I am sure it was not easy to live with my schedule and me for 11 weeks. I am very grateful for all they did for me. I cannot put it into better words than that.

Finally, I want to give you a few pointers for your time in Washington so this is how I will close. I hope you have as great of an experience in D.C. as I did, and I wish you well. If you would like to continue reading random thoughts by me, you may view my personal blog at http://www.ethanheverly.blogspot.com/. I had a great time sharing My D.C. Experience with you and I hope you enjoyed it as well.

Best,
Ethan

Must do’s/check-list

• First and foremost, carry an umbrella! Seriously, even if you don’t think you’ll need it, bring it! This philosophy saved me more than once, which will reduce your dry cleaning.
  
• Smart trip cards for the Metro are great, but… if you intend on exploring a lot, or are coming from a longer distance, go with the $39 7-day pass. You’ll save money. It’s a paper card which isn’t as convenient, but trust me, it won’t cost as much. The paper cards become deactivated if placed near a credit card, or maybe even a cell phone, which can be a hassle but I believe it’s still worth it.


• Speaking of Metro… the Metro is very sophisticated and easy to use. If you are bringing your car, I still would recommend Metro over driving. Parking is crazy expensive and driving is nearly impossible during rush hour.


• When you arrive in D.C. use one or two days to become acquainted with the city and your route to/from work and to/from TWC. Then add time for rush hour on the Metro because inevitably at some point there will be a break down and you will be late.


• Keep up on your portfolio throughout the summer. If you are in the Mass-Comm program, this will be easy because you are required to turn assignments in on semi-regular basis. However, if you are not Mass-Comm, I have heard people say they wish they had done a little each week. Assembling a good portfolio takes a considerable amount of time.


• Attend networking events. There is something on The Hill nearly every night and often there are happy hours with D.C. organizations or political campaigns. This is a great way to meet people and become involved.
  
• Bring an umbrella!


• If you want to see everything, spread it out over the ten weeks, don’t save it all until the end.


• You can get to Baltimore, New York and Philly fairly easy and inexpensive, you might consider doing this for a weekend.


• If you want to get into the White House, Capitol or Treasury, contact your Senator’s office now!! They have someone who can assist you with this process. The White House can often take six months but if you start now, that time could be only weeks. Also, your Senator has a breakfast once a week that you can attend.


• Bring an umbrella!
• Get business cards. Vistaprints.com offers 250 for free (plus shipping).
• Guys, bring light suits!
  
• Just to give you an example of what networking and civic engagement can develop into, I have been brought on with Senator McCain’s campaign as the McCain Student State Coordinator for Montana. I will be working for the Campaign back home and, if elected, have the potential to work in The White House. All because I volunteered for the campaign.


• Have fun and good luck and bring an umbrella!

Putting off the inevitable...

Well, the time is almost here! With only a little over a week to go, I have been finding myself trying to do and see as many things as possible. Last week I finally made it to Arlington National Cemetery; what an experience that was. If you have the chance, or desire to go during your time here, I definitely recommend going. I visited last weekend and spent hours walking around seeing the different monuments and historical places Arlington has to offer. The experience was very humbling and helped me understand that from great sacrifice comes great liberty. If you go, you cannot help but think about the hallowed grounds upon which you walk.

Over the course of the next eight days or so, I really hope to be able to visit the National Zoo, and see the various monuments on the mall. Believe it or not, I have not been able to do that yet. When you arrive in Washington, I suggest doing as many of these in your first few weeks as possible because once you really get into the groove, it is easy to become distracted.

As I mentioned in my last post, the Affliction: Banned event my company (Swanson Communications) was promoting went really well. Next week, we will begin promoting another fight, this one boxing. The fight between Kelly Pavlik and Bernard Hopkins will be in September, but we will head up to New York and Philadelphia next week for a press conference.

Last night was my final class with The Washington Center. To be honest with you, I actually enjoyed the course. It was not like your traditional college course where the professor lectures and you take notes. Our class was mostly discussion based, and although there was a text to read, the opportunity to converse with others in a learning environment seemed to foster more connection with the real world. I personally enjoy the discussion setting more than a lecture format, but maybe that is just me.

Finally, as I close in on the final week of this experience, I look back and try to understand what to take from my time here. As I do this, I realize that it is entirely possible that what this internship and semester in D.C. has done for me may not be something that I can qualify on a resume or with a short snippet. I believe that it has helped accomplish something greater. I do not want to say that it has helped me "find who I am," mostly because that would imply that I was lost before. But in a certain way, my time here has helped mold me into someone that I would like to think is a little bit better than when I arrived. Hopefully that will prove more beneficial than a certain skill.

Until next time…

.e