Coastal Carolina student quickly learns the value of networking while in Washington, DC

In the short time I have been in D.C. with the Washington Internship Institute, I have experienced a plethora of things that can be experienced few other places. For starters living in the nation’s capital you experience the things that people only read about, such as how the government shutdown effects the way the city is ran. But the experiences here from the internships and the D.C. life are only a small portion of what you do here. From day one with WII you will hear about networking, and begin experiencing it. With WII you meet so many people, beginning with the other students and then you will begin to meet professionals in the fields you want to explore. Many people who you wouldn’t be able to speak to as a professional will do so in D.C. because you are a student. While interviewing a high profile prosecutor at the United States Attorney’s Office I was given the contact information for more attorneys in the National Security department, which then led to an informational meeting with an FBI agent. As April Ryan, the White House Press Corp correspondent, told us in her meeting with our class, “It’s who you know that gets you in the door, and it’s what you know that keeps you there.” Coming to D.C. as an intern with WII is the most beneficial choice I have made as a student, because it gives you the connections you will use throughout your career to get to where you want to be.
— Brian Edgerton, Fall 2013 Intern at US Attorney's Office