An Internship in Washington D.C.

Getting Started in the AU Gap Program

As a newcomer to the American University Gap Program this spring, I was a little unclear on what to expect. Sure, I had read all the materials provided and looked at what past students had to say about their experience, but nothing I read could have foreshadowed the excitement that was to come.

The first few days were dedicated to preparing for the Internship Fair where about 50 different organizations would be coming to recruit us bright-eyed and bushy-tailed students. I walked into the internship fair a little nervous, but did my best to fall back on the lessons we were taught leading up to the event. The night after the internship fair, I received a call from the Federalist Society, one of my favorite organizations from the fair, asking if I could meet for an interview the next day.

Learning the Skills to Succeed

Our first day of class with Professor Christian Maisch (who is quite the comedian!) featured Ambassador Barbara Stephenson from the American Foreign Service Association in the morning and then we practiced our interview skills with an expert in the afternoon.

After class, I was ready to trek downtown for my internship interview. I walked into the beautiful office building, just a few blocks away from the White House, ready to be put on the grill; but instead was taken to a restaurant where I was relieved to find myself not on the menu! The interview went great!

Working in D.C.

After landing my dream internship with the Federalist Society, I started my career in Washington D.C. as a research associate. Since then, I’ve worked to compile reports on various topics to brief the leadership and have written a short introduction for a well-known Congressman. The work is hard but the hours pass quickly when you’re doing what you love.

After the first week, my co-worker and gap-semester buddy Will and I quickly realized there is only one appropriate way to close out a good week of work. At 5pm, we hop on the Metro toward the Capital and go to D.C.’s best burger joint, Ollie’s Trolley. The only problem so far is the experience is going too quickly—I’m doing my best to savor each fry, one bite at a time.

-Joseph Caplis
AU Gap Student, Spring 2017