DC — S1E2 — Finding a Rhythm
Season 1 · Episode 2
Good morning, everyone! This Monday marks the start of our third week of internships, and it’s a good moment to pause and reflect on week two, which finally gave us a chance to settle in.
My schedule has yet to repeat itself exactly, but I’m starting to understand the shape of the week. Mondays and Thursdays bring lunch provided by the program. Nearly every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday features some combination of seminar, workshop, or lecture. This past Monday, we held our first in-person oral briefings. Each intern submits a written brief on Friday, then delivers a two-minute stand-up presentation on Monday, followed by questioning and cross-examination. Oral presentation has historically been my least developed professional skill, so I’m grateful for an internship that treats it as a core requirement rather than an afterthought.
The Monday writing workshop was a particular highlight. We were given fifteen minutes to produce a roughly 750-word policy essay from scratch, with no research or preparation, before receiving feedback from a former SOCOM advisor. Tuesday brought a lecture on cyber-psychology and cyber-warfare, followed by group research sessions spread across the building’s classrooms. Wednesday was an excursion to the Victims of Communism Museum, where we met with staff, toured the exhibits, and closed with a lecture by one of the directors who wove her own childhood in Lithuania into the history of the movement in a way that no textbook could replicate. They had, interestingly, an exhibit on the founding of the nation, with the original manuscript of the declaration of independence, pictured above. Thursday held our recurring Civic Thought and Statecraft seminar, which applies philosophy to questions of national security and statecraft in ways that consistently surprise me. Thursday evening was also our second research group meeting, where each of us presented findings and surprises from our ongoing projects late into the evening. Fridays are designated work-from-home days.
This week’s reflection topic is habits to change, I’ll confess I’ve surrendered one I was proud of. The first two weeks, I walked to and from work, even after late research meetings, and felt very happy of that. Last Thursday it was sweltering in the morning and pouring in the evening, so I navigated the bus system, feeling equally proud. The heat and humidity have now arrived in full force, so the bus and I appear to be entering a long-term arrangement.
Looking forward to sharing week three with you all.
— Blaise