Week 6

 

 

During this weeks’ leadership curriculum we continued work on ‘Global Citizenship, focusing on Economy and Public Health’. We began the day discussing the ‘Traits and Qualities of Global Leadership with Dr Eric Motley (Aspen Institute) and then looked at the ‘Impact of Terrorism on Global Politics’ with Dr Craig Zeizler (Georgetown University). Focusing on Public Health, we were joined by Dr Baker (Whitman-Walker Clinic) who spoke to us about the HIV/AIDS crisis worldwide, with a particular focus on the United States and South Africa. We then returned to a focus on economics and discussed ‘International Trade and Economic Globalization’ with Dr Robert Jerome, before finishing with a speech on the ‘Effective Communication of Global Message’ given by Mike McCurry (former Clinton Press Secretary).

 

 

 

 

Our South African friends held their Congressional Forum on the Hill and we were privileged to be their guests at the event. Four of the SAWIP’s spoke about their experiences in South Africa and their hopes for the future and they were joined by guests such as Ambassador Robert Perry and Congressman Donald Payne who the SAWIP class presented with a Mapula cloth for his ongoing support for the Program. The South African interns are truly unique. We were privileged to have been able to share the summer with them and learn from their unique perspectives, hunger for knowledge, vibrant personalities, contagious enthusiasm for life, and their passion to create change. Thank you SAWIP! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After work we returned once more to the classroom to continue our leadership curriculum. We were privileged to be joined by Chris Lewis and Elizabeth Jaff (former Obama-Campaign Field Staff) on ‘The Obama Election and the Role of Young Leaders’. This summer, perhaps more so than ever before, was an incredible time to be in D.C. to witness the excitement and tensions surrounding the early days of President Obama’s Administration. I vividly remember following his Election Campaign in the media and, like many others across the world, I too tuned in to watch the historic Inauguration of the First Black President of the United States of America. The opportunity to hear directly from two of his young staff was a unique privilege and an extremely eye-opening experience.

 

 

 

 

After work we were all invited to a rooftop reception hosted by Norman Houston of the Northern Ireland Bureau. The theme for the evening was the Ulster Scots Tradition, and the historic Ulster Scots ties with the United States were highlighted by Brendan O’Grady (British Embassy and former Press Officer to Tony Blair) and Drew McGinty (Ulster American Society). Thank-you to the Northern Ireland Bureau for a very informative evening. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We started the morning at the annual ‘Catholic Business Breakfast’ in Virginia where some of our class delivered inspiring speeches about their visions for the future, before we all headed to our internships to begin another day of work. After work, to our delight, the fabulous Lenore took Laura, Emily, Le-ann and I on a roadtrip to Ocean City, New Jersey! We were all exhausted from the previous weeks’ events and this was the perfect surprise and an opportunity for us to relax and re-charge before our final two weeks in D.C. We drove through the night and when we arrived at the picturesque beachhouse we went out to the back yard to find a jetty overlooking a lagoon. We sat in the moonlight excited about being able to relax for the weekend, away from the incredible, but draining, lights of D.C...

 

 

 

 

 

Spending the weekend in Ocean City with some of the girls was one of my favourite memories of the summer.  After a long sleep-in we went out onto the jetty, tried some of the infamous cinnamon swirls for breakfast, and then went for a swim in the lagoon. After a lovely lunch, we spent the afternoon relaxing, reflecting on our experience so far, and swimming until dinner. I hate seafood, but Lenore convinced me that was probably because I’d never tried Ocean City Crabs...so for dinner we bought an enormous brown paper bag full of crabs. An hour or so later, slightly traumatised by the experience of having to hit crabs with wooden hammers, and also slightly bemused at having to go to such effort to get so little food, I gave up on the crab-tasting, however I’m glad to say that I did try it, and I’m alive to tell the tale! We spent the evening on the Boardwalk where we sampled every type of ice-cream, fudge, pop-corn and frozen-custard we could find, and we even tried Salt-Water Taffy for the first time. After a fantastic night, we even managed to catch the midnight showing of Harry Potter and early that morning we returned to the beach-house still buzzing from our fantastic day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got up early and had breakfast on the Boardwalk before heading to the beach where Emily and I attracted a lot of disbelieving glances from fellow beachgoers who couldn’t quite believe it was possible to be so white! Having done nothing to get a tan, we left the beach and went for dinner at gorgeous restaurant along the harbour, before beginning the long drive back to D.C. Thank you Lenore for a fantastic weekend, it was just what we all needed!