General points for making the most of a limited time in a limited space in a very limited work opportunity in a boundless beautiful city.

The following are a few ideas, some small, some big, that may help in considering how to make the most of your journey, short or long. It depends; that is always the answer to the question. What I have to tell you does not have as much meaning as what you have to tell yourself, each other, and the wisdom you leave behind for those who come next. What really matters in all this is— What is meaningful for your own goals and values?

Apply Design Thinking.

Devote intentional reflection on what you wish to get out of the experience (internship of any kind) by imagining and identifying your goals. Think about how you would measure progress on those goals. Explore what activities will be necessary to accomplish your goals. Once you have a sense of your desired goals and activities, consider what resources, connections, and tools will be necessary. Do this and you will have applied a backwards design framework to get the most out of your experiential learning (internship) experience.

Be Curious.

Strengthen your situational awareness and power of presence. Be aware with all your senses of the place and people you are with. Seek to observe and resist superficial levels of engagement to really get to know others in and out of common work and residential domains. Remember that a lot of the work we do, in any field, is relational.

Talk to People.

Challenge yourself to engage with unfamiliar spaces and frame your thinking around new perspectives. Engage in divergent dialogues. Consider the difference between reacting vs responding. Seek to become a more practiced version of yourself. Voice your experiences and seek to share in community with others. We all have a life narrative. Be intentional in how you craft and share your narrative. Validate voices; listening is often underestimated.

Explore beyond the (Capitol) Hilltop.

Check out the neighborhoods of this beautiful city, its institutions and get to know the people beyond your comfortable circles. Many of the universities in this city hold seminars and lectures open to the public. Sink in old comfortable couches at coffee shops along 18th street in Adams Morgan, lose yourself in an old bookshop in Eastern Market or hop on the metro to check out a film festival at AFI Theatre in Silver Spring. The suburbs have a lot to offer as well.

Be intentional in your connections.

Seek to build bonds with fellow colleagues and internship mates that go beyond the summer. By talking to one another in a dedicated space, you build a community of practice; a supportive sounding board for ideas and mutual guidance. You do not have to figure everything out on your own. It’s okay to seek social and professional support. It is important to ask questions. Building that practice as a habit.

Cristina Benitez is a mom of three, an enthusiast of inclusive and holistic learning design, and a higher ed administrator that has worked with college students in DC for over 15+ years. She enjoys all things baseball and chocolate.