Thursday, August 17, 2023
By:
Our last week... unreal!
On Monday, I worked on my writing for the newsletter, uploading my final presentation, practicing it, and then on some last-minute Tableau documentation. I also attended my *last* editorial meeting (I feel like there will be a lot of lasts happening this week, which makes me so sad).
On Tuesday, I practiced my final presentation in front of my mentor, which went well and was our last one-on-one meeting. I spent the rest of the day finishing up smaller projects and tying up any loose ends. After work, a group of interns and I headed over to North Italia for dinner to celebrate our last week together.
On Wednesday, I similarly worked on any last-minute, smaller things I could help out with. I also rearranged my room (goodbye King-size bed!) for when my brother comes up – he'll be attending my final presentation and bringing me home afterwards.
Thursday was a busy day – we had the practice session for the final symposium presentations, which was so helpful. After that, my brother arrived, and we went to grab some food. I also ended up going to dinner later in the evening with my mentor and the rest of the FYI team in Maryland. When I got back, my brother and I headed over to the National Mall.
Friday was the big day! All of the final presentations went amazing, but the feeling that it was all over was so bittersweet. I’ve loved every part of this summer – especially all of the amazing people that I was able to meet. In the evening, all the interns got together and we took turns saying goodbye and sharing our favorite memories from the summer.
My brother and I headed out early in the morning Saturday, and I was back home by noon. I caught up with some of my friends that evening and then took some time to rest before my wisdom teeth surgery that happened last Monday (I was out of commission for longer than I thought, so sorry this journal is a tad bit late).
I want to give a huge thank you to SPS (Brad, Kayla, & Mikayla, I’m looking at you! My local Radford chapter, too), my mentor Andrea, the FYI team, and all of the amazing interns I had the privilege to work and live with this summer. I’m so glad that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to pursue this internship, and if you’re ever thinking about it – do it! I’ve experienced so much growth, professionally and personally, and I’ll always have amazing memories with the best people to look back on.
I would usually say until next time, but its sadly time for goodbye.
Julia Buccola