My placement at the Congressional Institute, a nonprofit organization established to educate members of Congress and the public about policy issues and legislative procedure, has been a great fit. I assisted in the planning and organizing of major events attended by members of Congress as well as Cabinet Secretaries, wrote a memo to all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and learned about political strategy directly from staffers--including the Chief of Staff for a member of the House Republican Leadership team.

My Washington Center course, The Congressional Arena: Practical Problems and Impact Strategies, complemented my internship well. I was introduced to the federal budget and appropriations process--an area in which I was relatively uninformed. Monday afternoon programming gave me a chance to hear from Representative Brian Baird and Senator Chuck Hagel, among other speakers. They addressed us like regular human beings and spoke frankly about their work and the ways in which they believe our country could be strengthened.

My internship helped me to figure out what I want to do for a living and to identify some things that I would not want to do in the future. Through this program, I have discovered a passion for politics and the U.S. Congress. I've also developed an appreciation for experiential education. An internship is really what you make of it--if you come in smiling and asking questions, your supervisors will be enthusiastic about making the position beneficial for you.

My list of intern responsibilities at USA Today read like a job description for an entry-level staff member. I wrote two news scripts per week for SIRIUS radio, produced a weekly recap segment called Reality Check, and regularly created headlines, cutlines and news briefs. I edited copy and photos, maintained the Life section of USATODAY.com, monitored breaking news from the Associated Press wires, and conducted in-depth research for stories. I even got a chance to act as a professional reporter and photographer covering a festival in Maryland, an event at which I met celebrities such as Kanye West, Panic! At the Disco, The Misfits, and Cypress Hill.

I learned how the press corps functions in D.C. by observing journalists in their own element--Washington bureaus and Capitol Hill galleries. My professors back home could have explained the history of Congressional galleries and the practice of political reporting to me, but I don't think I would have absorbed it as well as I did from walking through the Capitol and talking to the journalists who work there every day. My Washington Center course was one of the best I've ever taken; my professor's status as a working reporter in D.C. allowed us to gain access to people and places that were worth a thousand pages in any textbook.

As a result of my D.C. experience, my university named me editor of the school paper and vice president of the Society of Professional Journalists. I can already see that this internship will affect my professional future, as my hometown paper is actively interested in having me as an intern. And I'm on a first-name basis with a lot of important journalists in D.C., which is a huge advantage in the competitive world of news. Above all, I enjoyed becoming a temporary resident of the nation's capital; the vast cultural diversity, rampant political disagreement, fast-paced lifestyle, and historic feel of the city are unique.