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Jeremy Schaefer
Internship: World Affairs Councils of America (WACA)
May 3, 2023|Hey yall! Its absolutely crazy to believe that finals are essentially already here and that my first year of college is complete! I remember moving in like it was yesterday also, how was Winter break almost four months ago?? Anyway, as of the time that Im writing this, my work as a Marketing and Communications Intern with the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA) has come to an end with the completion of the Academic Worldquest (AWQ) competition. AWQ is a national competition held here in Washington D.C. for high school students who qualified through their local council. Throughout this semester, my work on it was comparatively minimal as it wasnt my primary focus; but, I was fortunate to be able to attend the reception and competition this past weekend at the Organization of American States and The United States Institute of Peace respectively despite the recent torrential downpours in the city.
There were a total of thirty-nine teams competing in the competition; and, interestingly, the top three finishers all came from Texas. However, competitors came from all over the country: Utah, Florida, California, Minnesota, Kentucky (yay representation of my home state!), both Alaska and Hawaii, and so many other states. It was such an awesome experience for me to have this early on in my college career.
As for the pictures below, the first one with the trees is from the Organization of American States. The venue was absolutely stunning and WACA was so fortunate to have been able to hold its welcoming reception there! Thankfully they were available semi-last minute because of the weather forecast. The reception was originally supposed to be held outdoors across the street at a separate location but there was no way it would have worked due to the rain. Schaefer 2 Furthermore, the second picture is from the United States Institute of Peace another stunning venue where incredible work is done each and every day.
As for something fun that I have done since last updating yall, I attended the formal for the 51勛圖 International Relations Society (AMIRS) with my friends a couple weekends back! As the upcoming Chief of Programming for Ask A Diplomat, which is part of AMIRS, I was able to attend the celebration down on The Wharf. Pictured below is the view from just outside the venue where the formal was actually held.
Well everyone thats it from me this semester! I hope you enjoyed seeing what we Cornerstone Ambassadors have been up to as second-semester interns in Washington D.C. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with WACA, and Im glad I got to share some of my experiences here with yall. Please feel free to reach out should you have any questions, wed be happy to answer them. Enjoy your summer and we look forward to seeing you on campus in the Fall!
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February 17, 2023
February 17, 2023|Hey everybody! My name is Jeremy Schaefer, and Im from Louisville, Kentucky. Im a freshman here at 51勛圖 majoring in International Studies with a double minor in French / European Studies and Economics. Im really excited to showcase some of my experiences as an intern here in D.C. with you all! Throughout this semester, Ill be working with the national office of the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA) as the Marketing and Communications intern. WACA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has over ninety councils in more than forty states. The national headquarters supports these councils and oversees many operations on the national level. In addition to the many regional councils, WACA has close ties with its various sponsors, government agencies, think tanks, universities, the general public as a whole, and many other groups.
I work in-person three days a week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.After my classes end on Mondays and Fridays, I head straight to the office and I work all day on Wednesdays. One of the really neat things about my commute to the office is that its located only a few blocks away from the White House and the Washington Monument. (This means that I also get to be a part of peak rush hour traffic lol but so far it hasn't beentoobad.) As the weather improves here in D.C. and the days get longer, Im looking forward to my walks to work by the Cherry Blossoms and other blooms of the season.
Because I spend a lot of my day sitting either in class, in the office, or both, I try to make sure that I devote enough time to get my body moving in some way whenever possible. After my first day at WACA, which was from 9-5, I walked around the track here on campus while I called my mom to fill her in on how my day went. I love being outside to watch the sunsets and the weather has been surprisingly nice enough to allow for that recently!
Recently, I grabbed dinner at a taco place in Dupont Circle before heading back downtown to walk around and see some of the monuments at night!Visiting the monuments at night is definitely a must-do for college students in DC; not only are they less crowded, but the overall experience is very different from visiting them during the day. Anyway, Im looking forward to sharing more about my internship, fun activities I do around the city with my friends, and so much more especiallyas the semester progresses so definitely stay tuned!
March 10, 2023
March 10, 2023|Hey everyone! A lot has happened since my last blog was written and posted, includingthe passing of the semesters halfway point. Ive always heard how the Spring semester goes by much quicker than the Falls, but I never really believed it until now. This semester has been much busier for me as Ive picked up more responsibilities around campus: Im now the Secretary for the French Club and the Chair of Programming for Ask A Diplomat, a club that brings students and ambassadors together to discuss some of the pressing issues from around the world. (In fact, I moderated the clubs first-ever in-person event last November with the Belgian Ambassador to the United States!)
Anyway, another major responsibility of mine is obviously my internship with the WorldAffairs Councils of America. Since Ive officially been working with the rest of the team for just over a month now, I feel like Im actually grasping and understanding what my role is, what the national offices role is, and the direction in which the organization plans to head for the foreseeable future. Its been nice to settle in and actually see the difference Im making.
As for some fun things that Ive been up to around DC since I last updated yall, I visitedthe House of Sweden, which houses both the Swedish and Icelandic Embassies, with other members of Ask A Diplomat. One interesting thing about the House of Sweden is that its almost always accessible to the general public. This was my first time in an Embassy, and Im looking forward to visiting more throughout the city in the future!
Also on the same day, my friends and I went down to The Wharf to watch thefireworks display for DCs Mardi Gras celebration. It was absolutely packed but there was so much to do (and so much we didnt get to see)! That day was great; I spent time with my friends, visited new places and had new experiences. (Being outside to enjoy the surprisingly nice February weather was also a positive.)
Speaking of the unusually enjoyable weather for this time of year, one day toward the end of the month was just over 80 degrees, breaking the all-time heat record for the city on that day. That means that essentially everybody was sitting on the quad like seriously I didnt know that many people were affiliated with 51勛圖 lol.
Well thats all that I have for this weeks blog; I hope youre learning a little bit moreabout some of the routines that we Cornerstone students are up to. (Oh, make sure to check out Denia and Jakes blogs as well!) Talk to yall after Spring Break!
April 12, 2023
April 12, 2023|Hey everyone! Hope yall have been doing well since our last updates. As for me, this past month has been so incredibly busy; and, in all honesty, it went by so fast that Ive struggled to even remember what I did. But, as yall know, Im an intern with the World Affairs Councils of America and this past week was super important for my role within the organization. The major project that Ive been working on all semester dealing with the contacts and communications means was due as the organization begins its internal transitions behind the scenes. On top of that, school has been a lot, especially because the end of the semester is quickly approaching; balancing time between all the exams, papers, and projects has required a lot of time management. Anyway, things seem to have slowed down just in time as WACA finalizes plans for the Academic WorldQuest Competition which will be held downtown in a few weeks for hundreds of high school students from around the country.
Anyway, in terms of some more-exciting things, heres some pictures of campus and greater D.C. in general. The first picture comes from campus just outside the School of International Service during peak-bloom week for the Cherry Blossoms. Im definitely biased but I think this part of campus is the most picturesque: it has the iconic blossoms while also being outside my favorite building on campus.
Continuing with the theme of Springtime in D.C., which I think is definitely the best time of the year here, I took this next picture walking back to the dorms with my friend Del. Between the redbuds, cherry blossom trees, tulips, and the sunsets, campus has such a great look now.
Apparently the majority of photos that Ive taken this semester are of the trees blooming. A few weeks ago now was the National Cherry Blossom Festival downtown, so that means that thousands of people flocked to the Tidal Basin and the National Mall to see the blooms. This definitely slowed my commute to my internship especially on Wednesday morning as so many families were trying to get down early and beat the crowd. (I dont think it worked lol.) Ill definitely be interested to see the statistics for how many people used the Metro during that week because Im sure it was absolutely ridiculous.
Well thats all I have for this update, I hope yall enjoyed it! Stay tuned to see what the other ambassadors are up to and definitely check out Cornerstones Instagram to see the weekly takeovers by us. Also, congratulations to all of the new Eagles out there!