07/13/2020
On a cold Saturday in February, I visited the city of Philadelphia, PA. As a native Californian, my first discovery in the city was the bitter chill of a sunny winter day. Next, I learned that Philadelphia is a timeless, historically rich city. This I learned when I toured Independence Hall, the...
06/16/2020
Although my time in Washington D.C. was cut short due to coronavirus, the ten weeks I spent there allowed me to grow academically, professionally, and socially. At the National Center for Health Research, I was exposed to research on topics such as medical device and pharmaceutical drug safety in...
05/18/2020
Participating in UCDC as a Matsui Washington Fellow gave me my second opportunity to intern in Washington, DC. I spent my first internship at the U.S. Department of State in Summer 2019 and my second internship at the U.S. Agency for International Development in Spring 2020. In both roles, I was...
02/26/2020
As a Berkeley senior, I spent my last semester in DC as a Matsui Fellow. This experience has truly helped me jumpstart my professional career in the museum field. I interned with the National Collections Program (NCP) within the Smithsonian Institution during the UCDC program, and was asked to stay...
02/10/2020
Within a short 16 weeks in Washington, D.C., my inspiration to pursue a career in international relations was strengthened. Meeting former US Ambassadors to the UN Susan Rice and Samantha Power, former first female Secretary of State and US Ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright, and even...
05/07/2018
My time in DC absolutely flew by! Having been back in California for a little over two weeks, I already miss the DC Spring weather, my UCDC friends, and my internship. The remainder of my semester was jam-packed with events, ranging from touring the Capitol Building to attending the Cherry Blossom...
03/22/2018
I’ve been amazed at how fast the semester has flown by. With just over a month left, I’m feeling the pressure to take advantage of my time left in DC. But looking back, the last two months have been packed with work and class, and I’m impressed that I have managed to do as much as I have outside of...
03/05/2018
I feel like being in this program is a life changer. In just 2 months, I've already adapted to this so-called DC lifestyle. I wake up at exactly 8 in the morning now even during my days off (without setting an alarm), sipping black coffee while I walk to work and checking twitter and news sources...
02/08/2018
Every city has a word, and Washington DC’s is policy. No matter what you’re passionate about, there is someone here doing something related to it, and usually in policy. People here know they are making history. Washington is a very different place than Berkeley. There are things about the Bay Area...
01/31/2018
As I boarded the plane at San Francisco International Airport, my mind was racing with pending uncertainties. Would I like my internship? Would I enjoy living in such a politically charged city? Would I freeze to death? Fortunately, my transition to the DC weather and the city itself was smoother...