The D.C. Advantage: How The Washington Center finds University of Toledo students internships of a lifetime

Looking for an internship that’s going to make a real difference in your career? You’re in the same position that three University of Toledo students were in just a year ago. But luckily, Lydia, Kenneth and Kennedy found The Washington Center (TWC), a non-profit organization that arranges meaningful internships for college students in the nation’s capital. After some help from UT’s Center for Experiential Learning and Career Services,
they each spent a semester working and learning,
then they told us about it.

LYDIA SIMS
Major: Double major in Communication and Theatre, fourth-year
TWC Internship: PR at Rebel Desks start-up company
Result: Earned college credit and eventually turned her internship into a job as an independent contractor, editing and managing media projects.

Q: Why choose The Washington Center?
A: “It’s more than just an internship – it’s sharpening you as a professional, and it really does bridge the gap between a professional and a student. The fact that you’re in Washington D.C. and you have an opportunity to network with all these different people is a reason to do it.”

Q: Can you take me through a day in D.C.?
A: “Since it was a start up company, I was in charge of my day and was able to set my hours. I did editing, PR, interviews and more. Basically, I did a little bit of everything. I went in on Monday through Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and then had class on Thursday. On Fridays you have two different sessions - a lead session and a professional session to learn more about my major and how to be a leader.

Q: What did you learn from The Washington Center?
A: “I learned so much about who I am. Mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and just knowing where I’m at in life has me coming back like, `I’m ready to graduate, I’m not scared’.”

Q: How did this program impact you as a person?
A: “The experience is so broad and so big that you can get lost in it. You have to know who you are and coming out of it, I knew what I wanted and what I didn’t want. “

Q: What did you take away from The Washington Center?
A: “I am tougher than I think I am. When you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, there is still a light and you just have to keep moving forward because you never know how close you’re going to be.”

KENNETH BROWN
Major: Education theory and social foundations, graduate student
TWC Internship: Dual position at Teens Run D.C., helping young adults build social and emotional skills and making agendas for in-school learning.
Results: Earned college credit in his field of study at the epicenter of educational policy-making

Q: Why choose The Washington Center?
A: “A lot of people go through undergrad, they do internships locally and they have great experiences. But I wanted something on my resume to show that I’m a risk taker and show that I jumped into a new opportunity and I excelled at it.”

Q: How did you financially prepare for The Washington Center?
A: “I got a lot of help and support. I was able to raise money supported by the university and receive financial assistance from The Washington Center as well. My mentor told me to never let the price of anything hold you back when you really want to do something.”

Q: What are some challenges you faced at The Washington Center?
A: “The level of competition. In D.C., there are a lot of alpha-type personalities, very driven individuals, successful individuals, and they are hungry like they have never had success before.

Q: Can you take me through a typical day in D.C.?
A: “Two days I went to the office and my supervisors had a list of what they wanted me to do for the whole week. Typical day at school was to make an agenda for the day and then do social and emotional learning. Other things like appropriate versus inappropriate, the littlest things. Then after school was the running program; we did a couple laps, team building activities and ended with positive reinforcement for the kids.”

Q: How did this experience impact you as a person?
A: “It made me more confident in making courageous decisions. Someone told me, ‘Chances make champions,’ and that chance I took has placed me in a different size of a network and has placed my name in different conversations rather than just being local.”

KENNEDY PIERCE
Major: Psychology, second year
TWC Internship: Management support division for the U.S. Marshals Service
Results: Earned college credit and made connections at the bureau she wants to work for

Q: Why choose The Washington Center?
A: “There were a lot of opportunities to choose from and it fit me really well.”

Q: Can you take me through a typical day in D.C.?
A: “At my internship site, I was there from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. everyday. I would check in with my chief and normally if you didn’t have a project to work on, he gave you something else to do. Some little tasks were filing or traveling around to gather resources but there was never just a typical day for me.”

Q: What did this experience teach you?
A: “It was extremely eye-opening-it taught me to keep my mind and options open. It helped me see that there are different avenues to get where my end goal was.”

Q: How did this program help advance your career?
A: “It helped me make a lot of connections. I got to meet Special Agents in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and meet a lot of people in the U.S. Marshals Service who have connections with the FBI. Which is really helpful, because I’m trying to get into the FBI internship program for next summer so they’ve all been really helpful. I keep up to date with all of them and they all have either made phone calls or sent emails for me, which is really great.”

Q: What did you take away from this experience?
A: “It definitely helped me grow and become more independent. It was a culture shock and it took me a while to master that, but once I did, I learned how to be more independent. Always look for new opportunities and keep your mind open because you never know what will come out of something. I wouldn’t change this experience for anything.”

The Washington Center has internships available for all majors, ranging from a semester, summer, or year-long. They work to provide meaningful coursework and programming to help you expand your network and transition from college into your professional future.

The traditional components of The Washington Center’s general internship program include a four-day per week internship, academic coursework, a Congressional Breakfast Series, a Presidential Lecture Series, embassy visit program, small group discussions, professional workshops, internship portfolio development, housing and student life services.

To learn about how you can experience The Washington Center, visit the Center for Experiential Learning and Career Services in Student Union Room 1533, visit their website or send them an email to [email protected]