Prior to my arrival in Washington, D.C., I was so nervous and unsure of what to expect. I would be living in a house where I did not know anyone, and I would be working in a large city, which I have only toured a handful of times. Ironically enough, though, my fears were getting in the way of my dream, which was to live and work in D.C.
As I reach the mid-point of my final January Term, I cannot help but to keep falling in love with everything. I am staying at The Student International House, which is located in the heart of D.C. Everything here is beautiful, and the people are amazing. I am inspired by my housemates, who are doing things such as earning their master’s in biochemistry at Georgetown and interning for the Dutch news here in the city.
I am interning at Bass Public Affairs. I was offered the internship through a partner of the firm, Deana Bass, whom is a Salem alumna and is currently on the Board of Trustees. I love gaining hands-on experience in the public affairs world and being able to network with so many different people in the Washington, D.C. area.
I am so thankful for this experience. I cannot say living in such an adventurous city is not fun, because it definitely is when I am not working. I have had the opportunities to do other things such as try Ethiopian food and skip around in the snow at the Washington Monument. My fears before I left have turned into confidence and joy. I am so thankful for the Salem College January Term program.
-Victoria
Victoria Souza and I are working in Washington D.C. as interns for Deana Bass, who is a partner at Bass Public Affairs, a company she started a few years ago. We both made contact with her first as a member of the Board of Trustees at Salem College. Her business is founded on family Christian values; she works to help her clients, whether it be an individual person or company/business, with public outreach. As her interns, we are helping her with random tasks that make her job easier to get information and solutions to her clients faster; for example, we have researched businesses’ social media footprints and are currently assisting in the organizing of the BET Influencers Brunch, an annual event she plans. We have enjoyed every moment so far and continue to look forward to other hands-on experiences that we will receive from the public affairs field within Communications Careers.
-Whitney
For more information on Victoria’s and Whitney’s DC internships, visit their blogs:
thesalemite.org 