So this week was my first week at my internship placement! I
am interning at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in the Office of
Diversity and Inclusion. My supervisor is Michael Murray, the Diversity
Programs Manager who works on hiring policy regarding people with disabilities.
One of the main parts of his job is making sure that Executive Order 13548 is
being implemented. Executive Order 13548 was signed by President Obama in 2010,
and it calls for increasing federal employment of individuals with
disabilities. I’m so excited to be working on employment of people with
disabilities because employment of people with disabilities is one of my
greatest interests.
I had a great first week. I’ve already gotten to sit in on
some interesting meetings and meet some great people. I am starting to learn
more about how the federal government operates. My supervisor is awesome and I
really like the people working in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
One of the more amusing parts of my week is learning all about
acronyms. It seems like everybody in Washington, particularly those employed in
federal government, spout off acronyms like it’s their job. As a huge fan of The
West Wing (a political drama set in the White House that ran from 1999-2006), I should be used to this by now, but I still found it to be a bit of
a challenge. Here’s just a sampling of the acronyms I came across this week:
SES, SF 256, SPPC, NDLA, POWER, OGC, VEOA, DPM, WRP, FECA. I can now tell
you what each of these acronyms stands for, so I’m making progress! I made a game out of trying to figure out what each new acronym stands for before I ask someone or look it up. I think I'm getting better at it.
This upcoming week should be exciting because I get to go to
some of the National Council on Independent Living Conference, and I start my second week of work. I’m looking forward to
networking and meeting new people, going to workshops, and going to my first
march and rally!
See you next week!
-Frances
No comments:
Post a Comment
Commenters must avoid profanity, harsh language and disparaging remarks on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability. All comments to the blog are moderated by AAPD, and can be subject to removal at any time.
Please use the comments section to engage in the ongoing dialogue between our program funders, current and former interns, our colleagues, and the broader disability community, and to respond to intern posts that intrigue you, to share your own stories, or to simply express your gratitude for being allowed into the world of our summer interns.