A Summer in DC by Jessica Z. '27
what i've been up to this summer!
Happy middle of01 now end of lol July! I haven’t blogged in a long time, and I have quite a few posts from the end of the school year that I still need to revisit. As Kano mentioned in her blog post, I’m also trying to make a more conscious effort to catch up with blogging to my current life, but words are hard. Nothing’s quite surfaced yet :’)
That being said, I’m working in Washington, DC this summer through the MIT-Washington Summer Internship Program! I’ve been to DC three times before this summer: once on a middle school field trip, for three days last summer, and for a week during spring break as part of MIT-Washington’s orientation.
I took my last final in the Spring and was soon whisked away on an airplane to land in DC. I’m working at a biomedical and public health organization this summer, which has definitely been a unique experience that calls for its own blog post. Outside of work, though, the MIT-Washington Program and all the interesting spots in DC have given me a good chance to explore the DMV area!
Here’s some things I’ve been up to:
Congressional Baseball Game
The Congressional Baseball Game is held in Nationals Park every summer in mid-June! If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s a bipartisan baseball game played by members of the United States Congress. I’ve never been to a baseball game before, but it was a very chill day :)
Georgetown Flea Market
Every Sunday, Georgetown has a Flea Market with vendors selling a mix of vintage, modern, hand-made, and revamped goods. It reminds me of the Fenway Flea in Boston but with a bit more jewelry and artistic goods. I went nearly every Sunday just because each week brought something new. I ended up buying a few pieces of jewelry, one of which was from a local seller who I ended up talking to for a bit about how he became interested in jewelry making. It was very wholesome, and he gave me a few tips on how to get started with jewelry making!
Site Visits
The MIT-Washington program organizes weekly visits to policy-related organizations in DC, ranging from smaller think tanks, to non-profits, to large government organizations. Oftentimes, the speakers are MIT alumni, and it’s been interesting to talk to past students about their winding paths into policy.02 especially as someone who very recently became interested in policy
We’ve been able to learn about a lot of different fields: AI ethics, biotechnology, agricultural policy, international relations, foreign affairs, economics, etc. I admittedly came in pretty solely interested in healthcare or public health policy, but I’ve left every event with a little bit more knowledge about just how vast the policy world is. Here’s some of my favorite sites:
MIT Community Dinner Party
I’ve been going to a lot of food places, both with the MIT-Washington program and with other friends staying in DC this Summer. My favorite food experience, though, was when we were invited to Kat Jiang’s house for a dinner party!
Kat (@chefkatdc) is an MIT alum03 Class of 2020; Course 18 & 21L and one of the coolest people I’ve been able to meet. She was super involved in the UA04 Undergraduate Association and East Campus, and she pivoted to culinary school a few years after graduating. She’s a pastry cook at Seylou Bakery, chef instructor at Cookology Culinary School, and has made it a hobby to host amazing themed dinner parties :)
Lightning round of some other fun DC things: museums,05 lots, lots, lots of them. i have a soft spot for art museums in general but this was a definite tourist staple i loved 4th of July fireworks,06 my friend's work offered their interns access to their rooftop lounge for the fireworks! i came as a +1, and it was super, super pretty Smithsonian Zoo,lots of bakeries, botanical gardens, DC food festival, water lily festival, and visiting new & old friends.
I’m not usually a fan of the summer,07 my least favorite season :0 but this summer has passed by so quickly.08 almost August (!!!!) I came into this summer quite stressed, so it’s been a kind reminder to me on how important it is to rest.
It’s a nice change of environment and pace—I’m not at school, I’m not at home, and it’s strangely comforting to try new things this summer. I’m also trying a new type of work09 working in government! this summer, which has helped bring back more of my spark for learning.
I’ve been thinking a lot more about growing up since I primarily work with people who are many years older than me in education and life experience. Nearly every time I’ve talked to someone, they always wistfully mention that I should really savor my time in undergrad. I’ve heard this before, of course, but I think it really started to sink in this summer.
After my housing ends in early August, I’m heading home for two weeks before flying back to Boston to see friends and get ready for the next school year. A lot of first-year-like jitters have crept into my head, despite finishing my first-year, and I have a feeling it will feel like a new beginning again. I’m not usually a fan of change, but I’m excited, and I’m grateful that I’ve been able to spend this summer in DC <3
- now end of lol back to text ↑
- especially as someone who very recently became interested in policy back to text ↑
- Class of 2020; Course 18 & 21L back to text ↑
- Undergraduate Association back to text ↑
- lots, lots, lots of them. i have a soft spot for art museums in general but this was a definite tourist staple i loved back to text ↑
- my friend's work offered their interns access to their rooftop lounge for the fireworks! i came as a +1, and it was super, super pretty back to text ↑
- my least favorite season :0 back to text ↑
- almost August (!!!!) back to text ↑
- working in government! back to text ↑