University of Wisconsin–Madison

USA: Sydney Sherry (Virtual)

Sydney sits at a dimly lit desk with a laptop and notebook.
My workspace wasn’t as glamorous as a desk in D.C., but I really enjoyed having my fan directly on me during the hottest weeks of the summer! Madison is always beautiful, and I loved people-watching during my moments of downtime.

Program: UW Wisconsin in Washington, DC Internship Program, Summer

Sydney’s Major: Political Science, History Certificate

What challenges or barriers did you face as you prepared to go abroad and/or during your time abroad? How did you work through them?

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to do my program online, including my internship, and I was worried that I would not form connections or know if Washington, D.C. was truly a place where I wanted to have a career. To combat this, I had two goals: doing five informational interviews and truly connecting with my mentor. Emailing these individuals was very nerve-wracking, and I was worried that our meetings online wouldn’t help me decide my career path. However, I used my connections inside the program and my mentor’s network to get the interviews, which were very enlightening and have helped me on my career journey.

I do feel that my efforts resulted in genuine connections despite the challenge of being virtual.

What is your most memorable experience from your program?

My most memorable experience in the program was the student connections portion of class. It pushed us to get to know each other in fun ways. Of the activities, I most enjoyed when we played Mafia. The chat of our Zoom call was hilarious, and the expressions on everyone’s faces convinced me that this was where I was supposed to be in that moment.

What is your advice for someone considering your program?

My advice for someone considering the Wisconsin in Washington Program is to seize every opportunity given to you. This is an amazing program that places the burden of forming connections and finding an internship directly on the student, and while that is intimidating, it reflects what we all need to do in the future. Through this summer, I have tried to say “yes” to everything my internship supervisor has asked of me, and that led me to do amazing tasks that I never would have dreamed of. It also led me to having conversations about careers that haven’t even been on my radar but that reflect what I want to get out of a career. If you want to be a forward-thinking, proactive individual, this is the kind of program that will put you where you need to be to gain those skills.