Day 4 - Let's Get Down to Business... to Defeat the Huns. (First Work Day)

After I have been here for a few days getting settled and seeing the sights, I have gotten anxious to get to work. I honestly feel bad for going around and playing when I have come here to work. Needless to say, I was anxious to go to work Tuesday morning.

We were to report at 10 am. We knew nothing other than the address and what to wear. (I am saying we because there are two other students from Utah State working in the same office as me, Joey and Cami Jo. Joey is one of my six roommates and Cami Jo lives in our same building with other female interns from Utah)

We took the metro there. It is a really sweet commute comparatively, 15 minutes by metro then walk two blocks. I work in the complex of offices just west of the White House. Security in the building is really tight, we have to show id, wear badges, go through metal detectors, and get checked in by secret service.

As we got there we met all the other interns. There are about 40 of us in all. All come from all over the US. And being caucasian, I was in the minority. It is awesome meeting these young ambitious students. Everyone is so friendly and motivated. It is rare that three of us are from the same university. We all are at different stages of schooling. Some are in the middle of undergrad work, others are graduated, others are in grad school, and even a few are recently graduated from grad school. As I met these highly qualified people I felt extremely overwhelmed. How did a little red-headed boy from Morgan, Utah get here? I still don't know. I do not have half the credentials as the rest of the interns. I have been immensely blessed.

We had a two hour orientation. A fast overview of the office. Overwhelming.

They explained an important difference. We are NOT White House interns. Being a White House intern is a big deal. Although we are still addressed as interns, our official title is a volunteer leader. That being said, we work side by side with the white house interns and there is no distinguishable difference beside the color of our name badge. They have set up this volunteer leader program because the volume of mail coming in the office is so high, they couldn't keep up with the staff and the interns they had, so they couldn't just have more interns. (I guess there is some sort of cap on the number of White House Interns) So, they set up this program. It really is too bad that we do the exact same thing as the White House interns, but don't get the prestigious title that looks awesome on a resume. Nevertheless, my program is still quite competitive and still looks awesome on a resume.

After the two hour orientation, we went to lunch at a cafe and were dismissed. It was only 1:00. Boo. I want to work. So afterword, I took a stroll to the White House a snapped a pic.

This week my schedule will be a bit weird due to orientation, but starting next week I will work from 9 to 6 monday-friday. I'm looking forward to that.

I will later give more details on exactly what I will be doing in the office as I learn.

Sorry for the long post. This information is like a journal for myself.