My dad borrowed my uncle’s SUV to bring me and all of my stuff down to Washington, D.C; he didn’t think the old farm truck would be able to take the 7-hour drive. I’ve been to big cities before, I’ve been to D.C. before, but rolling in this time was different… I’m going to be living here!

My name is Denise and I am from Hadley, Massachusetts, a very small town in Western Mass. I grew up surrounded by blonde cousins and 450 cows on a 7th generation-run dairy farm. I graduated from a small, public school with a class of 47 people. I spend my days at home barefoot in the dirt and sun. I loved growing up on a farm; it has left me unafraid of hard work and made me who I am today.

I am a junior at the University of New Hampshire with a recreation management and policy major. My unique major reflects my interests in museum studies, educational programming, event management, and leadership. I didn’t know what I wanted to major in right away, so I choose to take a year off between high school and college. I spent that year working in Yellowstone National Park cleaning rooms in the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. Although I was not working for the National Park Service (NPS), it was in Yellowstone that I developed my interest in NPS and America’s National Parks.

Denise and a few of her family's 450 cattle.

I was really excited when I got a phone call this summer (on my birthday!) from the Trust for the National Mall. They are a small nonprofit that began only 6 years ago. The Trust for the National Mall is dedicated to the restoration, maintenance, and national value of the National Mall. In short, their mission is to make the National Mall the best National Park in the world. I am honored to be a part of a group of such motivated people, supporting such an important place. This semester I will be working with the Trust as their marketing and events intern. The opportunity is related to my major and revolves around a place I find fascinating and significant!

This Labor Day weekend was my first weekend here in D.C. The Washington Center’s Residential Academic Facility (or the RAF), already feels like home; buzzing with conversation and new friendships being made. My apartment is beautiful, and my roommates are tons of fun. They are from all over -- Katie comes from Idaho, Caitlin from New Jersey, and Paola from Mexico. We spent all weekend out walking around on the National Mall and going through the Smithsonian museums...oh, and taking loads of pictures.

Early pictures of the Capitol building on a late-summer evening.

I know this semester will be nothing short of an adventure. There is so much to see, so much to do and so many people to meet! And on top of that, I have class, an internship, a civic engagement project, and a portfolio to put together! This weekend, I visited the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial. I’ll try to take his advice for the next 3.5 months in Washington, D.C.

An inscription from the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial on Roosevelt Island.