At the internship on Monday, I did a lot of filing. I made new files, took old ones out of the cabinet, and generally did a lot of organizing. It made me think a lot about paper and the environment. Some thoughts about the environmental impact of my day.

8:20-9– Got on the bus. Feeling good about that impact, wishing there were more buses and fewer cars, as usual, because it takes forever to get down to M Street from AU, which it really shouldn’t. Also, less cars is good for the Earth.

9-12– Filed so many papers. I must have taken 200 outdated files out of the cabinet, and asked my boss if I could reuse them to make some of the new folders. She said no, because it’s policy to keep those correspondences for a certain amount of time. Which I get. Nobody has time to scan that stuff, but all I could think of was taken paper in paper folders out of a wooden file cabinet, and into cardboard boxes. As my Green Eagle friend would say, “oof.” It was a lot of tree products, which is just going to be shut away an not looked at. Hopefully when it can be disposed of in 5-10 years (I don’t know) it will be recycled.

12-1– Lunch break. I ate my seitan and rice out of the reusable container I brought, and drank water from a glass and used a plastic fork (which I’ve used before and I’ll wash and use again). That’s not too shabby for the environment. I spent some time on the computer checking email and reading the news. Also good. I also read the Post this morning in paper form, but I missed a lot of stuff, because I only read it for like 5 minutes while I made toast.

1-3– Back to filing, and some computer work. I printed about 20 pages (oof again) and felt SO bad taking all 250 folders from the supply room. I mean, that’s what it’s there for, that’s not what I felt bad about. Many Congressmen/women will not ever correspond with IMLS. I hope when they leave office and another intern cleans out the file cabinet in 10 years, they can reuse the ones that were empty. The empty ones I took out (only about 15) I reused. Reduce, reuse, recycle. That’s the proper order too. Reduce is definitely most important.

3-3:40–N2 is my favorite route, it drops me right at the corner of New Mexico and Nebraska Avenues. Wonderful, right on campus. Listened to music.

3:45– Got an iced chai from the Dav. I did not need to do that, and I felt bad, even though the service was good and the drink was tasty. I try to avoid getting iced drinks because I can’t use a reusable mug. Sadness. But the Dav is good about using recycled goods, and I recycled my cup.

And my life went on, non-internship related. I still think about it though, a lot… the environment is so important, and if I knew more about it, I’d go into the carbon footprint of my day. I guess I’m asking you, reader, if you exist, to think about the environment too.

Thanks.

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A little Colbert for y’all: http://www.colbertnation.com/better-know-a-district

The file cabinet did have some bulging files from people who spent years of supporting the agency I work for  (The Institute for Museum and Library Services) and for having a lot of interactions with the office (every single correspondence is kept FOREVER… well, not actually forever) but a long time. My favorite files to see (and take out of the cabinet) were Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (stopped being a Senator in 2009), Representative Rahm Emmanuel (stopped being a rep in 2009), Edward “Ted” Kennedy (died in 2009 — what a big year!), and Representative Anthony Weiner (left office in 2011 because of that sexting scandal).

A lot of the Reps and Senators were not on my radar at all, but reading their names, I definitely “better knew” a LOT of districts. I learned Alaska, North and South Dakotas, Wyoming and Vermont only have 1 each– a Representative at large.

Ok, so this might not be a super clear lesson from my internship or anything, but this isn’t an episode of Modern Family (I know, you’re thinking “it’s not??”). I learn a lot from paying attention. I could have been daydreaming all day, but instead, I got to know my country’s government a lot better.

Do you know who represents you? My Senators are William “Mo” Cowan (I found out it’s pronounced like cow(the animal)-ann (the name) when I spoke to someone at his office last week), Elizabeth Warren (I love her so much), and my Rep is Jim McGovern.

Better know your district, and pay attention. You never know what may be important.

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1. You can get jobs without a masters (OR EVEN A DEGREE), and lit and history majors get jobs too. Woah. Mind blown.
2. Don’t put on irrelevant/outdated stuff. One or the other, but not both. If you were an intern in 1985, it might be time to take that off your resume.
3. Consider the job posting. I know my office put a lot of thought into what they were looking for (someone with experience on the hill was a must) and someone with experience in museums and libraries was a plus. Some people applied with neither. It didn’t make sense to me. If you don’t fit into any of the categories besides wanting the job, you may not be qualified.
4. Don’t underestimate your power. Here i was, thinking i was a lowly intern, when in fact it’s my reading of these applications that the boss is going to read. I’m moving up in the world.

All the reading of people’s email addresses reminded me a lot of Harvard Sailing Team Mailing list video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AXtOnR5dnE), because some of the applications had ridiculous email addresses, like @starpower.net. Honestly, that was the only really weird one, but still. Weird.

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I want to talk today about balancing creativity in my internship. I’ve been there, oof, 5 times now? I think? It’s been three weeks, but with Presidents’ Day, I got a day off (yup, everyone except AU does, it seems. Perks of working for the government). And while I’ve been here, I’ve been struggling with knowing when to turn on and off my creative brain. If it’s on and I’m doing busy work, I’m falling asleep. If it’s off while I’m writing, I’m just stringing words together without any style. Because people like me like lists, I’ll give you a list today, readers. This is a list for myself and for other interns or future interns.

1)      Find some satisfaction in the mundane: On my second day, I had 99 problems, and faxing was ALL of them. I’m pretty sure I told this joke to all of my friends, so if you groan too I won’t be offended. I literally was assigned to send 99 faxes. I stood next to the fax machine for about an hour and a half, because you can’t send 2 faxes at a time. So there I was, typing, scanning, sending, again  and again. But when I finished with the tedium, I had accomplished something measurable. That stack of 99 letters was boring, but the completed pile was a very fulfilling thing. After work, I found this really funny article about faxing in Japan. Apparently, it’s still a thing there.

2)      Take your breaks: Most of my life here at IMLS isn’t faxing, it’s writing and researching, which can really zap those brain cells whether it’s a Monday morning or a Thursday afternoon at the end of a long week. Everyone at my office sits at their desks for lunch, and so I do too, but while I’m eating, I’m not doing work. I’m usually reading articles online about stuff that entertains or interests me.

3)      Stay off Facebook: I haven’t done it yet, and I’m not planning to, but when I do homework, Facebook and Twitter eat my time (I’m not on tumblr for that reason). I used to think that Pintrest was easier to let go of, but it’s really not. I stay off social media even during my breaks, so it’s a treat when I get back home.

4)      Ask for more: Seriously, this is the most clichéd list of dos and don’ts ever. I’ve read this blog before. But I think there’s a reason this stuff gets said time and time again. Soo, if you run out of work or are stuck on a project, ask to talk about it with your boss/supervisor. Mine was pretty impressed with all the work I’d done, even though I thought it seemed pretty standard. And then she said she’d give me tips, next steps, and more information the next time I come in, after she reads it. Never know if you don’t ask. And being bored all day is so not worth it.

The one thing I don’t have figured out yet is how to not get a headache looking at a computer screen for 6 straight hours. My brain and my eyes hate me at the end of the day.

Thanks for reading through. See you next time.

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I guess I should probably tell you about how I got this internship. Well, every semester on campus, there’s a job and internship fair that’s very well publicized and usually everyone goes. Except me, because I’ve always had either class or work on Wednesdays, the day they’re usually held. Last semester, it was October 4^th, I believe, and I was looking for an internship for the spring. In the weeks before the fair, the career center sends out a lot of emails with lists of the companies and organizations attending, so you can do your homework on the businesses, if you’re really interested in them. From this list, I found IMLS, and looked at their internship requirements for their intern in the Office of Communications and Government Affairs. I pretty much fit the bill for a position, and thought it might be a good match because my campus job was at the AU Museum at the Katzen Arts Center. I also saw that IMLS had an October 1^st deadline for fall interns, and since the career fair wasn’t until after that date, I thought I might have a good chance because I wouldn’t be competing with many other AU students, at least. So I sent them my application, and went in for an interview. The women I interviewed with were very welcoming, and seemed really grateful to have someone interested in the internship. They offered me the position at the end of the interview, telling me they’d love to have me in the spring, because their current intern was leaving in November, and their office was under construction, so they had a lower capacity than normal. It has been a little weird, but such a relief to have the internship waiting for me in the spring. So here I am, just after my first day on the job.

I can’t wait to really get this blog going, check back for some of my adventures at IMLS! Thanks for reading.

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But wait, you might ask. What is a freshman doing interning during their first semester of college? Well, I was selected to be a part of the Washington Mentorship Program, and it is a requirement of the program to complete an internship two days a week, as well as a full load of courses.

I am interning this semester at the Swedish American Chambers of Commerce of the USA, Inc. (SACC-USA for short) as their Editorial Intern. Two days a week I am lucky enough to work in the beautiful House of Sweden, right off the Potomac. I work alongside the President of SACC-USA, the Director of Trainee Programs, our Financial officer, and four Swedish trainee’s. Each trainee is here on a Visa for either six or twelve months, leaving me to be the only American-born worker in the office!

It is my job to report on Swedish-American business news and the SACC network, proofread articles sent to be published by the SACC-USA Currents, plan and develop the monthly Currents, and help my co-workers learn English! I do hope to learn some Swedish along the way…

I really enjoy what I do, and look forward to continuing this blog through my experience as a SACC-USA intern. Stay tuned for a post about the crayfish party I attended that was hosted by SACC-DC!

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It was probably a good time to end. Most of the interns have left; I only stayed to work on some unfinished business. But I’ve been pulling overtime the past few weeks between everything I needed (read: wanted) to do, and I’ll be happy to get a bit of a break before the school year starts again.

USA TODAY headquarters in McLean, Va.

But it doesn’t mean I’m done with USA TODAY. I’m wrapping up an article I’ve spent all summer writing, and I’ll be back in USAT HQ soon working on my new job for USA TODAY College.

It’s been a great summer. I’ve made lifelong friends and learned skills along the way that I will never forget. I’m excited to go back to school and focus on academics and my school newspaper.

What I’m most excited for, believe it or not, is updating my LinkedIn and Twitter profiles. It always feels nice to me that I’ve moved on and closed one door to open another. It’s a feeling of transition that excites me and gets me ready for the next step.

I’m also looking forward to sleeping in.

The latest bylines (but not the last!)

Intern central at USA TODAY. My desk is in the first row, on the right.

I made my USA TODAY Game Hunters debut with a review of “Fieldrunners 2.”

On embargo (meaning it was secret until a given time), I wrote about Google’s announcement that it now has 1 million public transportation stops in Google Maps. Luckily, I was here long enough that knew a bit of the context and was able to add in more information than was in the press release.

Continuing my apparent Google beat, I learned more about why the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button disappeared in favor of something a little more spontaneous.

Once again, a round-up of this week’s news in the tech industry.

Got a contributing tag on a story of hard-hitting investigative journalism…about Google Doodles.

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So, in essence I’ve had to jump headlong into the Tumbling and Instagramming universe. I’ll be posting there and here regular updates on my internship.

It’s a pretty cool project, actually. Not everybody takes the time to update others about their responsibilities as an intern. I suppose it’s fair to want avoid sounding arrogant. But let’s be honest, interns get to do some pretty amazing things. This week in the intern Tumblr, one USA TODAY intern talked about her experience reporting at the White House. That’s not bragging; it’s sharing your excitement for your work and showing your passion for what you’re doing.

Sure, any intern could spend their summer sitting at home and watching Netflix all day during (which, coincidently, is exactly what I’m doing right now) or getting a part-time job working in retail or dining that will most certainly pay more than most internships do nowadays. Instead, they’re exploring new areas and diving head first into an adventure with sometimes very little guidance.

That’s why blogs like this one and the USA TODAY Interns blog are so important.

But if there’s anything interns love more than celebrating their own successes (and failures), it’s helping other prospective interns have that same experience. That’s why every other blog post from an intern will contain words of advice and comfort. We’re all in this together, because, let’s face it: the whole internship setup can be kind of a drag. After all: paying to do work seems like the opposite of logical in some cases. But more on that later.

Despite the complaints, any intern is probably happy to be there. Otherwise, they’d leave. We’re all having a great time. We may complain about our bosses or whine that we woke up at 6 a.m. But we secretly love it (at least, most of us). We love working in the fields we hope to join when we graduate. We love meeting new people. We love seeing the fruits of our labor. (We also have loved ones who are curious about all we are doing. Because face it, they love us).

We’re bone tired, and we wish we got paid. But it beats class.

This week’s bylines

The Wall Street Journal reported that Orbitz, the online travel booking site, showed Mac users and PC users different results based on their own studies that showed Mac users tend to spend more than PC users, among other variables. I used that story along with a previous blog post by the Orbitz CEO at USA TODAY Travel to report on this interesting phenomenon. Then I got a call from an Orbitz VP. The rest, they say, is history.

Another weekly round-up of this week’s Tech news. It gets easier every time. I think my years at The Eagle have taught me to write succinctly and clearly. Sweet.

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I don’t know what changed this week, but I had three different ideas for stories that I really thought were important, newsworthy topics I could dive into and get excited about. But, like I suspected, I didn’t get a chance to dive into them this week. It was a particularly heavy week, and whenever I got the chance to propose an article, I had to put it off to next week. With Charlie on furlough, I was on double-duty. It was pretty much a full-time job, and, frankly, we didn’t even do everything we wanted to do for that week.

But it meant I couldn’t pursue opportunities for a print byline or two and hone my own skills.  In all honesty, it was a bit of an ego-check. But an intern at the news desk and a friend of mine, John McAuliff, had a good point: USA Today is focused on the brand, not on the individuals that make that brand. Individual writers aren’t branded or touted like at other news outlets. And that’s not all bad. In fact, it’s for the best. Writers, editors, photographers, producers, and everyone in between works as a team to come up with the newest way to tell the news.

But everyday, Page One Editor David Colton highlights the greatest work by USA Today journalists of the day in an internal email. Individual achievements are admired and celebrated. But furthering the brand of USA Today comes first, and I admire that in this group.

I’m still contributing to the McPaper in ways I never thought I’d have the opportunity to. I was the only representative of the Tech’s online production team in the paper’s national headquarters. Most of last week, I was the only person managing the @USATodayTech Twitter account. I sat in on a major editorial board meeting for the first time. Not gonna lie, it feels kinda cool.

I did get a little bit of writing in. When Microsoft unveiled the Windows Phone 8, my superviser for the week, Tech’s online producer Nancy Blair,and I were swimming in tech jargon, and we had to choose between running more complicated material from our partners or wait for more info from the Associated Press. Instead, I offered to take a crack at translating the chatter into the facts our readers needed to know about WP8 while cutting through the developer-friendly mumbo-jumbo. Nancy loved the idea and set me loose.

I had a similar assignment when I had to condense a week’s worth of tech news into one article, similar to the article I wrote last week.

I thought they were kind of a run-of-the-mill posts, but Nancy seemed impressed with them. I suppose I must be doing something right!

I also got to know some people at the breaking news desk, including Mike James, a national editor at USA Today. We were both very excited to pitch some ideas for print, and I’m looking forward to working on some of them as soon as I get the chance.

After all, I’ve got a few weeks left for the brand to work in my favor. I want to contribute to the brand of USA Today in more ways than I already have, and the best part of this team atmosphere is the opportunity for individual growth. And I aim to take that opportunity while I’m here.

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These first few weeks have thrown new and exciting challenges at me.

One of the major challenges that has hit me is the new environment, working with children in junior high and high school. In the past, I have worked mainly with children between the ages of 5 and 8. This summer, I am dealing with rebellious yet brilliant youth. It’s refreshing and infuriating at the same time.

It’s really hit or miss trying to get them interested in a game. They don’t like talking about themselves, because they feel so much pressure from their peers. This is hugely disappointing in my eyes. I am convinced that having them share with each other is the key to kicking down the walls… but how?

Then, there are some who try to lead the other kids. Somehow, the other staff and I have to convince him to lead the kids towards good, not disrespect and delinquency.

To say the least, my job keeps my mind and heart busy. These kids are fantastic, but they have yet to fully appreciate who they are meant to be. I suppose that’s what staff members like us are here for.

Until next time, I will leave you with a few covers of the song I am teaching the kids to play on the guitar.

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