Bauer in D.C. Fellows Share Their February Experiences

Salman Al-Luqman
Finance and Supply Chain Management Senior

I started my internship at the State Department this month. Walking the halls of the Harry S. Truman building and meeting the men and women who are responsible for promoting our foreign policy interests has been a surreal experience. The people I work with have lived in 3-5 countries and speak just as many languages. The team I work with has been great about plugging me into the projects that they are working on but also giving me the option to work on issues which I am interested in. I am currently working on creating a model to calculate the cost of restructuring sovereign debt.

Although working in the government is completely different than any of my previous work experiences, I find that many of the case studies I did at Bauer and the work I have done at previous internships have provided me the transferable skills to do well at the State Department.

Apart from work, I enjoyed spending time with the Bauer Delegation and meeting many Bauer Alumni in the D.C. Area during the Dean’s visit earlier this month. I look forward to my next few months in D.C. and I am especially excited to be back on campus next semester.

Hamzah Ansari
Accounting and Finance Junior

I’ve been having a great time here in D.C. I finally started my long awaited internship at the Department of State. Although I’ve only been interning for about two weeks, I really hit the ground running and dove straight into the work and met as many people as I could to understand what my office, the Office of Energy Diplomacy, does to promote US policy interests domestically and internationally. Every day at the State Department brings its fresh set of challenges and rewards. I have gotten the opportunity to work on internal briefs and support our missions abroad. But, as a business student, a really interesting part of my job is getting to meet private companies who wish to expand their operations internationally and listen to the vision and business models they hope U.S. government economic policies will align with.

While I have started working, and am significantly busier than I was a few weeks ago, I have not stopped exploring what this great city has to offer. I am excited to see what the rest of my time in D.C. holds for me and I cannot wait to dive deeper into my work at the State Department.

Ann Johnson
Finance and Political Science Senior

While January felt like it lasted an entire year, February passed in the blink of the eye. Before I knew it, major personal and professional milestones came and went, and our time in D.C. is halfway over. I guess it’s true what they say, time flies when you are having fun.

Every day at my internship is a chance to learn something new from the individuals around me, the educational opportunities available to interns and the projects I have been assigned. The people I work with are perhaps some of the most well-connected and generous people and continually offer us tickets to shows, concerts and other great events in the district. In addition to exploring D.C.’s cultural offerings, we had an opportunity to take a White House tour! Lastly, we continue to eat and explore our way through D.C. and started establishing our own list of favorite places. Somehow, in the blink of an eye, we stopped being D.C. tourists or visitors and finally became D.C. locals.

Next week brings the arrival of the Bauer delegation and I’m excited to have a little piece of home in our new city. As the weather begins to warm here in D.C., the first signs of cherry blossom season are beginning to bloom right outside my building. They remind me everyday to soak in every moment of this unique experience, because time is truly flying by.

Noah Kopesky
Accounting and Management Information Systems Junior

I cannot believe that I have already been in Washington, D.C. for two months already. February flew by, this month was full of technical policy conversations, new friendships and busy days at work. I still haven’t managed to find Blue Bell ice cream, but I am managing to survive.

My internship has given me more opportunities than I ever expected. Each week I am getting to research anywhere from 5-10 upcoming bills and then writing cosponsor recommendations for my congresswoman. The coolest experience I had this month was getting to write speeches for my congresswoman. Hearing my own words spoken in a congressional hearing was surreal and something that I will never forget.

This month I also got the chance to work on some of the skills I learned in my classes at Bauer. I have been working with the congresswoman’s press secretary to develop an excel-based database with contact information of media outlets from around the nation. I also had the opportunity to dive into President Trump’s proposed budget then interpret the good and the bad with my legislative director.

One misconception of Washington D.C. is that everyone here is either red or blue. All month I have had the opportunity to embrace purple. I have met with great people on both sides of the aisle and from all walks of life. The common theme has been passion for serving the public. I am so thankful for the experience that this fellowship has given me, and I will continue to embrace every moment.

“A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things.” – President Barack Obama

Rida Sarwar
Accounting Junior

Today marks the end of month two here in D.C. and somehow in this short amount of time, I have fallen in love with this city. I can now flawlessly blend in with the locals, although I don’t think I will ever be able to call anywhere but Houston home.

The first month here, I did a lot of the tourist things: touring the capital, seeing the monuments going to the most popular museums. This month, I focused more on exploring the lesser-known parts of D.C. I went to some small art galleries, coffee shops and just wandered around the city.

Working has really allowed me to connect with the people of the city. Because I go all over the city to different events, I’m constantly networking and meeting new people. Through the connections I’ve made, I have been able to experience the city in a whole new way than last month.

As I get more comfortable in the city, I know the time will fly by faster, which means I will value every moment I have left in the city.

Annaliza Suerte
Accounting Junior

Eventful. That sums up my February D.C. experience.

Now that my internship is in full swing, my weeks are filled with a variety of events. I’ve met other interns and professionals from other offices, attended networking events, panels, and joined a mentorship program. Each week brings a new set of events that keep me involved within the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Celebrating my birthday also made February eventful. My friends and I ate at Washington’s oldest saloon from 1856, Old Ebbitt Grill. It was nice to celebrate at such a historic restaurant in D.C. Plus, the food was delicious. Another restaurant we tried that has delicious food is called Thip Khao. It is by far the best restaurant we’ve had in D.C. The food was so flavorsome. If you ever find yourself in D.C., I highly recommend checking it out. In addition to eating lots of good food, we went axe throwing for the first time, toured the White House, and visited a couple more museums.

Those are just a few things that made February eventful. The D.C. experience is now half-way over and I can’t wait to see what March has in store.