Submitted by Kristine Castoria on the 2018 spring semester program in Washington, D.C. …
First Day: Black pants, red blazer, power suit. NGOs are not the government, as clearly stated in the name, non-government organization. Although most claim to be non-partisan, most still have very opinionated employees. Currently, I am working for an organization called National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine. The youngest person in my office is 31, so for me as a college sophomore, “adulting” is not a walk in the park. “Adulting” means uncomfortable pants, high heels, itchy sweaters and waking up at 8:00 am to come home at 8:00 pm. I know I signed up for this so I know it doesn’t sound like I am enjoying it, but I am. It is my first day and I’ve decided that what I want to work on here is a literature review of my own. This organization tends to do very interesting studies, some pertaining to our youth, public health and even immigration. My first thought after scrolling through the existing articles on our company website is how public health is being affected by globalization. Despite knowing that there is other research that dances around the same idea, I want to take into account the carbon emission from constant air travel, or perhaps overpopulation and how consistent movement may be increasing our size even more.
In order to make change, one must go to where power is rooted. During my short few hours here, I have already learned that even adults have a hard time keeping everything organized. In my NGO specifically, there are different branches that study different subjects. However, the communication between those branches is poor and needs to be improved. This afternoon, I will be sitting in on one of the communication meetings and I am interested to see just how much progress is made.
As a part of my internship, on Monday, I will be shadowing on the board of International Sciences. Some examples of consensus studies would be: Human Genome Editing, Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change or Disaster Resilience. Although these subjects are what I will be focusing on most, my organization studies everything from infrastructure to national security.
What is a think tank?
Think tanks orchestrate ideologies for the public and public figures so that the government can best determine what needs change and reform. In other words, the research done by think tanks exposes the problems that need to be addressed by backing their data with factual evidence and logical possible conclusions. Think tanks play a very large role in policy making.
Although I work 9:00 am -5:00 pm Monday through Thursday, I still have three classes I need to maintain. Two of those classes are here in Washington. The other UD students living in my house are grouped together with New York City College students that have the same program as us. One of our classes is taught on Wednesday nights at 6:30, and the other on Fridays from 10:00 am -2:00 pm. In these classes, we will analyze policy, meet guest speakers and tour Washington. Each week, we are required to read the news, stay up to date on current policy making and voice our educated opinion in class. Washington is currently going through a strange time in the Trump era. As a result, these classes are filled with questions like “How on earth did we get here?”
It’s a learning journey.
