USA: Katie Beaudet
Program: UW Wisconsin in Washington, DC Internship Program, Spring
Katie’s Major: Journalism, Political Science, Public Policy Certificate
What is your advice for someone considering your program?
This program is what you make of it. Securing an internship is up to the student, which can be stressful but also allows students to pursue opportunities that interest them. You will leave with great experiences if you embrace the experience of working full-time and continuously push yourself to explore all that DC has to do and see.
The program will pass by much faster than you expect, and I made sure to take advantage of my time in DC.
What is the moment you are most proud of?
Regarding my professional experience, I was most proud of the work I completed on my account teams. I got to complete meaningful work that helped my team at ROKK Solutions and was shared externally. I am proud of the skills I got to develop and the trust that coworkers had in my work. Regarding my personal experience, I am proud that I stayed committed to exploring DC throughout the semester.
What is your most memorable experience from your program?
Housing for the WiW program is located right behind the Supreme Court and Capitol Hill, which brought some pretty extraordinary experiences. My cohort got to see what everyday life was like around the hill and events like the State of the Union Address and the protests after the leaked Supreme Court draft decision in Roe v. Wade. These experiences brought up a wide range of emotions for me and other UW students, but I will always remember being able to be right there in DC as these historic events unfolded.