To preface, this blog post was created for a university audience and captures some of my personal experiences in Washington, D.C. as a Matsui Center Washington Fellow of the Fall 2025 UCDC Cohort.
In Washington D.C., I met peers who inspired me, professionals who motivated me, and had brief passing moments with some interesting people on Embassy Row. On the last day of my internship, I was walking back to the UCDC Center and feeling sentimental about my time as an intern ending when I was stopped by a group of warm but serious-looking older people. They asked me what my name was, whether the certificate I was holding in my hand from my internship was a diploma, and what school I went to. When I said UC Berkeley, they were palpably taken aback.
The famous liberal nature of the school peeved them a certain way.
I kept asking what their names were and where they were from but they kept deflecting, and all they said was that they were from a state in the U.S (omitted from here for privacy reasons). Finally, one of the older gentlemen said, “We just came from Dick Cheney’s funeral.” He paused after, looked me directly in the eye, and silently waited for my response. I think he expected me to spit on the name of the man who chiefly constructed the invasion of Iraq based on disputed WMD claims after the tragedies of 9/11.
I simply said, “I’m sorry for your loss.” A man had died, and his friend was mourning his loss. What is more simple than seeing him as human, as someone mourning the loss of his friend and recognizing his grief? And what is more human than death?
Afterwards, the ice was broken, but I had a fellowship meeting to head to, and had to return to the center.
My interaction with those mysterious individuals, right by Embassy Row, demonstrated how Washington D.C. was a city like no other. It was a place where I stumbled upon serious and mysterious people working for U.S. interests at home, and abroad, completed a National Security Research Internship, where I had in-depth discussions with people in the Intelligence Community, had mentorship sessions with numerous Ambassadors, Chiefs of Mission, and nonprofit leaders, and briefed Subject Matter Experts. The city itself was rich in policy and statecraft, but it was also tight-knit, and full of competing ideas.
In my internship, I took a graduate-level philosophy class on Western Moral and Political Thought. It completely transformed the way I saw institutions, both conservative and liberal, both republican and democrat. The United States of America was made to create a safe space for the competition of ideas, for the nonpartisanship approach to serving the people in all of its cultural wealth and all of its idiosyncrasies.
Admittedly, I had limited experience with the political right, the conservative nature of national security, and the general GOP. However, in my internship and my time in D.C., I learned that both the political left and the political right agreed on a lot more than they disagreed, and that one was established to thrive with the other.
Our perspectives are increasingly polarized and subsequently frame our actions in perceivably opposing ways, yet all that we do are largely done with similar intention. Our actions are there to forward an idea of an America, a vision for the future of the nation and its people of whom we care so deeply. These visions often complement each other in more ways than one.
The principles of America were founded on the proliferation of innovation, of a government meant to serve the people, and of institutions adapting to meet the demands of changing times.
The foundations of our democracy depend not on a rigid clinging to approaches consistent with different times, but of mindfully challenging ideas, throughout the political spectrum, in forming ones representative of an American public today, ready for actionable and impactful policy, and recognizing the existence of institutions, both new and old, as they serve us today.
Gandhi said to “Be the change you want to see in the world.” But how can we BE the change if we do not have the opportunity to address what needs changing?
In my time in D.C., I conducted research on U.S.-China soft power rivalry in the Indo-Pacific with the Philippines as a case study, wrote and presented numerous intelligence and policy briefs, and took a graduate-level class on the philosophical foundations of the U.S.
This semester, I was also a Research Assistant for a Philippine Golden Heart recipient, helping U.S. aid reach the Philippines after a devastating earthquake, and two calamitous typhoons, while completing an additional fellowship as a Paragon Policy Fellow where I conducted research on critical mineral infrastructure and supply chain ecosystems for a U.S. state government partner to meet energy and supply demands for a changing economic landscape. I spent my Saturday mornings taking an Arabic class at the Language Institute. During the week, I also took two undergrad classes at the UCDC center, including one on the Economics of Public Policy.
From these experiences, I’ve gained a comprehensive understanding of our nation, from its philosophical foundations to its modern translations in our current government. But I also gained questions I still consider today.
What is the United States of America? Or what should it be?
My experience as a Matsui Center Washington Fellow in the UCDC program has truly transformed my perspective, and my role in forwarding a vision of the U.S. emblematic of a public ready for impactful change. My co-interns, fellows, and classmates at the UCDC center have shown me what true leadership and vision can do when met with initiative, hard work, and a support network.
I am not alone in my perspective, and I know that the best answers, the best solutions come from the questions we have yet to think to ask.
I’ve applied to graduate schools…so it's not a goodbye.
See you later, D.C.
And to those reading this, I’ll quote a bit of Enola Holmes:
“Our future is up to us.”