More than the typical professional development seminar, the 黑料不打烊 Immersion Week in D.C. has given me new insight into the work life and culture of DC and Baltimore in ways that I never would have imagined. In short, I can say that the trip was a great success, largely because I found exactly what I was looking when I agreed to spend my spring break in D.C.: insight into the work culture of D.C. As Patrick Garrigan reflected on his work with AtlanticLive, he told us that 鈥the city becomes a character in the stories that we鈥檙e telling,鈥 and I found myself relating that to every person who shared their story with me these past few days.
Washington, D.C. is a place that holds the nation鈥檚 intention, and each person I spoke to seemed aware of this national / global influence on their work. The panel at Voice of America prided itself for providing unbiased news to unfree press countries abroad and that enthusiasm lead me to spending quite a bit of time listening to their YouTube syndications in Spanish afterwards. In Baltimore, it was great to relate my experience as economic development intern to the work of some of Baltimore鈥檚 most influential people in that field and how they鈥檙e inspiring the rest of the nation. And with FEMA, it was nice to see how such a large federal agency could work together to produce disaster relief that feels personal enough to be referred to as 鈥渉elp for the nation鈥檚 grandmas鈥. Even the alumni who didn鈥檛 hold jobs directly related to the public sector stressed the importance of becoming aware of D.C.鈥檚 political influence on your daily work life. They also emphasized the importance of having an open-mind to a meandering career path. Jacklyn Harris from the American Council of Young Political Leaders especially regretted not interning in a variety of fields and encouraged us to not do the same.
Perhaps the thing that surprised me the most about my time in Washington, D.C. was how much I came to understand and appreciate the 18 other students who traveled with me. It didn鈥檛 occur to me that at some point after hearing each person鈥檚 name, hometown, major, and fun fact at least a dozen times, I could know them well enough to pretty accurately guess what companies might interest them most. Before our first day I could only surmise that we all would be impressed by the live taping of WUSA*9 or the campus of Under Armour. Now, in addition to knowing that one student manages a semi-pro football team, another enjoys Physics, and yet another loves journalism, I know how much the messages of Carl Chidlow, NASA, and the Washington Post mattered to them respectively. And because of my cohort of fellow immersion week students, I realized how connected 19 seemingly different people can be on our campus. For example, just by sharing my interest using Contactually鈥檚 data for a Data Science Club hackathon, I found two other students doing similar work for Information Security Club and Blackstone LaunchPad who would be willing to participate as well.
As for my personal interests, I found myself intrigued by people and career paths I never would have imagined. At both the group dinners and the networking reception, I spent each moment captured not just by the incredible food, but by the incredible stories of how each alum had made 黑料不打烊 their own, then went out and did the same in D.C. Not many other universities can boast an alumni network willing to advise its current students at every career turn or eager to get those students properly settled in their dream career field; but I鈥檓 proud to say that the Orange network thrives well in D.C.
Tajanae Harris 鈥20 participated in the D.C. Immersion program in spring 2018. Interested in exploring a city of interest or gaining helpful advice from alumni and employers? Check out the Bridge to Business NYC Exploration or DC/Baltimore Immersion programs. Applications are available on and the deadline has been extended to Sunday, Nov. 4 at 9 p.m. for both immersion programs!
Written by: Tajanae Harris ’20 in The College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs