Fairtrade America Internship

On Friday afternoon, I made my way to Panera Bread for an interview with Fairtrade America. Well folks, it went WELL. After what was basically a 45 minute (and wonderful) conversation, I was offered a communications internship with the organization.

Not only is the organization, amazing, but its the perfect position for my public relations major! As someone who is interested in international and sustainable development, this will be great hands on experience in getting to see the behind-the-scenes look at non-profit management. I also will be able to get really involved in event planning and promotions which will be fun to get creative with. The organization also partners with companies that have REALLY good food, so working with them will also be an added bonus.
I can't wait to jump right into this internship; I start Tuesday! I'm so antsy to start getting more involved, more connections, and real world experience.

Let Freedom Ring Commemoration

As excited as I was to attend the commemoration of MLK's March on Washington in 1963, I suppose I better blog about it.

Off to a late start of waking up at 9, my room mate (Sari) and I finally left on our adventure around 10. With quick access to the Metro, we arrived in the city in no time. Having stumbled upon a fellow classmate, we all decided to walk to the National Mall together. The city was FULL of people. Food trucks, people selling commemoration products, and event go-ers lined the streets. DC seemed more bustling than I've ever seen it before.

The crowd waiting to get past security. Many people had no idea what they were waiting in line for and many sat down thinking that was where they had to watch the ceremony from. 

Once we got to the mall, I was completely astonished.There was only one entrance to the event, and being so close to the official starting time, it was jam packed. I mean, there must have been a thousand people waiting to get in. We immediately joined the right side of the crowd, not even sure what we were joining. After standing in the heat for about an hour (made drastically worse by all the bodies) we decided to try and see if we could avoid "entering" and just watch the speeches from the side. As we walked around the crowd we quickly found that all the nearby parks and public areas were blocked off and guarded by police and K9s. We decided to jump into the left side of the crowd to try and push our way to the front of the security lines. After much maneuvering through the crowd, and about a 45 min wait, we finally made it to security check. Just like in an airport, we went through a metal detector, had to throw out all water bottles, and had our bags checked. With finally room to breathe and fresh air we made our way towards the Lincoln memorial.
Only VIP guests were allowed to be front row of the speakers. Everyone else sat quite a distance away from the steps of the memorial. As a result most guests were forced to watch the speeches on a huge screen that blocked any view of the monument and the speakers. That being said, I felt very detached from the entire event. Not being able to personally see Clinton, Carter, Obama, Caroline Kennedy, and the Kings made the program seem less "real."

Source: nationaljournal.com  At approximately 3 pm, MLK's granddaughter joined the many countries around the world who participated in a bell ringing and observance the of the March on Washington. 

Despite the distance, it was so amazing to be in a diverse crowd all gathered for a similar purpose. Commemorating the historical March on Washington, celebrating the civil rights movement, and being in the presence of prominent political figures, as well as an amazing community of activists will be a moment I will cherish forever; and relentlessly tell my children and grandchildren about for years.

Source: www.kansas.com You can see the VIP guests in the front. My friends and I were standing at the front of the crowd that is to the right of the reflecting pool. You can see the black screen towards the right of the picture that blocked our view. Unfortunately, the Washington memorial is under construction leaving a very, unpretty sight behind us. 

 I could not be more happy with the fact that the commemoration was not just a commemoration. It was a perfect mixture of celebrating the work of Martin Luther King, other civil rights activists and ordinary people of the time, as well as continuing to look at the future. While an amazing amount of progress has been made in decreasing discrimination of all people, it would be as Obama said, dishonorable to say we are done. Inequities in jobs, housing, education, and other many regions are still very much prominent in our nation and need to be dealt with in order to make King's "dream" a complete reality. This idea of much room for improvement was a trending topic of discussion of the day and was met warmly by cheers and agreement from the crowd; especially me!
All, in all, despite being drenched in humidity-sweat, August 28th, 2013 was a day to remember. Never shall I forget the passion of the crowd around me for social change.

You know you're in DC when...

You know you're in D.C. when you're going to the National Mall to hear THREE presidents speak.

Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington as well as Martin Luther King's "I have a dream..." speech. Unfortunately, I missed the actual march due to an event associated with American University. However, with class cancelled tomorrow, my room mate, and fellow program students are all heading into the city to hear President Obama, Clinton, and Carter speak to commemorate the historical event.


The opportunity to hear three presidents speak is amazing enough without the added effect of being able to celebrate a wonderful feat! As someone who did not experience the civil right movement, I can't believe it has only been 50 years since the march. But then again, its crazy to think that it has already been 50 years and there are still cases of racism throughout the United States, and the world as well.

Source: Huffington Post

I hope I'm alive to see a time where even discussing race is so irrelevant; because no one will even regard it as an issue.

Can't wait to experience history tomorrow!

First week in DC!

I am finally in DC! After a whole summer of counting down the days, I finally arrived Monday afternoon. With four suitcases fully backed to the brim, my mother and I flew down in the early morning. We checked into our hotel and immediately set out on an afternoon adventure. Since we were only a few blocks from Georgetown we decided to walk around to see the beautiful area. After making a pit stop on O st. to quickly creep on my brother's apartment, we went to Georgetown Cupcakes; of course.


I've already been to the cupcake shop a few years ago when I visited for a Model UN conference but my mom was so excited (I used to make her watch the show with me all the time). She got a toffee nut cupcake, I got a honey banana, and we got a chocolate coconut cupcake to share the next day. All three were SO GOOD. A friend recommended a "better" cupcake shop which I will have to check out soon.

The next day we finally headed into the city! Since we both have already toured DC and seen most of the monuments, we decided to just visit the Botanical gardens and the Newseum. Our first stop was the botanical gardens. The orchid room was amazing. The size and color of the flowers are so pretty. However, this one flower was one of my favorites in the whole place.

After the botanical gardens we headed across the street to the Newseum. The museum was not in DC when I visited in 8th grade so I was really looking forward to visiting it- and it did not let me down. The Newseum is probably one of the coolest museums I've been too. 5 flours of history and news was right up my ally. The first exhibit was all about the fall of the Berlin wall. The featured section of the Berlin wall was so interesting to see. Being the longest section on display outside of Germany, it was breathtaking to see. It was crazy to see the graffiti on one side, and a completely blank wall on the other side.

My next favorite exhibit was entitled "Creating Camelot." One section was covered in photographs of John and Jackie Kennedy, taken by his campaign photographer. At first, the pictures were just pretty to look at, but it was amazing to learn how influential his photographer was in his campaign and early part of his presidency. Seeing the personality of John, Jackie, and their children in intimate family photos was so unique.

The rest of the exhibits were astonishing as well. With events like the 9/11 attacks and the uni-bomber featured in the CIA room, I didn't want to leave. Artifacts like the uni-bombers actual hide-out, and different possessions of the hijackers left me in awe.

That night upon returning to our hotel, we got into an elevator to head up to our room. The lady next to me started talking to me and asked if I was a student in DC. I said yes but only for a semester. Turns out, her daughter in the same elevator was my future ROOMATE. It was so ironic and funny to meet her in such a situation.

The next day we moved in! Our apartment is so spacious! We have two couches, a dinning room table (small one), and a kitchen with an OVEN. It's great! We still have to decorate more to fill up the bare walls but its coming along great. I'm so happy to finally be here. With classes starting on Wednesday I can't wait to have a great semester.

AAH video

Just found this awesome video about the Arlington Academy of Hope's work in Uganda. AAH is the organization I volunteered through in May. It's so great to see familiar sights and teachers in the vid! Check it out or you're a square.