Second Week

Hello again,

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve arrived in DC, and I must say it has been an interesting experience. I’ve been all over town and I have found out where everything is luckily. The other day I took a trip to Baltimore and Fort McHenry with a previous year AAPD intern, Mitch, and my roommate Matt. It was interesting for me, considering that I had never been to Baltimore. I also found out the Orioles are playing my home town team, the Yankees, next week so I’m trying to arrange a little trip to go see a Orioles/Yankees game! Otherwise, it’s been a good learning experience all around.

I start work on Monday, and I’m so excited to get started and work on some projects with CBP. It turns out my office is not in DC per-se, it’s an annex in Alexandria. So, I’m actually working in Virginia this summer and have to commute about a half an hour to work in the mornings, which isn’t so bad. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do some more in depth networking and administrative duties than those I have done in the past in previous internships. I’ve really been looking forward to expanding my horizons and furthering my education in as many ways as I can. They say the best way to learn is through practice and implementation, and I hope to do plenty of that when I start on Monday!

Later,

Ron

Memorial Day in the Capitol

As my second week in DC comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect about my adventures in our Nation’s Capitol. No words can aptly describe the experience of walking the streets of DC on Memorial Day weekend. From the Parades to the National Memorial Day Concert, Memorial Day in DC is truly an unforgettable experience. The long weekend also afforded me the opportunity to get better acquainted with DC as a city. As an Early American History Minor, I jumped at the chance to immerse myself in DC’s historical offerings. Reading the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Magna Carta and knowing the profound impact and lasting legacy of each of these documents upon the world personally inspired me to want to capitalize upon my time here in DC to leave my own legacy. Each day in DC is an opportunity to learn, to acquire skills, and to learn from our nation’s leaders. Although I’ve spent most of this post discussing the insights I acquired during Memorial Day, Memorial Day also served as an opportunity to thank our troops for all that they’ve done. Despite any political leanings, the citizens of DC and our nation came together to memorialize and thank our troops. For anyone reading this blog who served our country or is serving our country right now, thank you for your service.

My disability in my workplace

This week has been a week to start settling into a new routine and with Congress not in session this week, it’s an ideal week to do so. With most, if not all members of Congress back in their home districts for the week, there isn’t nearly as much going on on the Hill, so I’ve been able to transition with much more ease. As someone with an autism spectrum disorder, this is particularly important, as I can feel over stimulated & overwhelmed more easily than others. I’m interning in the office of Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and her office is located at the end of a hallway, so there are fewer voices & other noises to hear. I’m sure volume will increase in the coming weeks, though, as activity in the office increases, and consequently, so does the number of visitors, so this is a good week for me to start feeling comfortable in my new setting. This is the first workplace environment where I’ve been “out” as an individual with a disability to my supervisor and I made sure to mention how I can sometimes feel anxious because of overstimulation, which can especially affect my ability to communicate. Because my disability may not always be noticeable at first glance, whether or not to be open about it in my daily life has been a personal struggle. With so much misinformation about individuals with autism spectrum disorder, I can’t help but fear those around me will apply those myths when interacting with me, that they will wrongly believe they must treat me differently because of my disability. Luckily, everyone has been extremely supportive and I have also been successfully employing my own methods which I find helpful to help me stay centered. There will be four additional interns in Congresswoman Baldwin’s office with me this summer, three of whom either started this week or last week. Each of them is extremely friendly and welcoming. Our intern coordinator, while she certainly expects us to learn fast, has been very patient when I- or any of the other interns for that matter- asks for something to be repeated. As someone who often does need something explained to me more than once considering it takes my mind just a tad longer for things to process at times, I’ve really appreciated her kindness.

I realized that a good way to get some substantive work might be establishing relations through the appropriate legislative aides. This week, I introduced myself to several of the LAs & expressed interest in certain issues they cover. I'll definitely follow up with them soon as well. Also, I spoke to the congresswoman on my first day!....sort of. She called from her district office asking to speak to one of our legislative coordinators and I took the call. Though the call wasn’t for me of course, she offered a very friendly & extremely genuine greeting which made me smile. I'm looking forward to meeting her in-person when she returns to Washington D.C.

Curse of the First Week

To be honest, I generally hate first weeks. Experience has taught me they are going to be awkward, that I am going to get lost, and there will be a minimum of five embarrassing incidents before the weekend can officially start. And while last week was technically our first week with AAPD, I was really terrified to start work Tuesday because I was sure the first week disasters were coming. Needless to say I did not sleep much Monday night, instead re-living every horrible first week. My family and friends back home were all very kind and supportive (sarcasm doesn’t translate very well to blogging) in reminding me of every “hilarious” (to them) embarrassing first week incident.

“Remember how your car got towed”

“Remember how you accidentally turned on the shower in the bathroom and nearly flooded the office”

“Remember when you destroyed the conference room by spilling your pop all over”

“Remember how you spilled the huge jar of jelly beans in the boss’s office EVERYWHERE”

Remember, remember, remember….AHHHHHHH!!!!!

When my alarm finally went off Tuesday morning, I got dressed like I was going to my execution, sure that I would be dying of embarrassment before the day was through. I left way too early, and was on time. I went to get my picture taken for my ID, and while I won’t be submitting it to America’s Next Top Model, it’s certainly not as bad as my license. Plus, I haven’t lost it yet! Then I was set the task of learning the buildings and how to get around. And while I still have no clue where I am or where I am going half the time, at the least the look of sheer panic on my face garners sympathetic smiles and nods in the right direction. The Capitol and its associated buildings are connected by a ridiculous maze of tunnels that all look the same and seem not to be heading anywhere. Several times I thought I was lost in a basement or vacant corridor, only to turn the corner and find a security desk or office or random cafeteria. I really need a map. The rest of my first week has revolved around learning about the office and meeting everyone. And I am very happy to report, I think the first week curse has been broken! The only minorly awkward incident I can report is that my shoes have decided to make very loud squeaking noises every time I take a step. Clearly this is not the disaster I feared. And yes I did take the wrong train and ended up going the opposite direction of my apartment, but I still eventually made it home in one piece. And yes I have accidentally run over several feet on the metro, but no one has reciprocated with violence and in fact people seem to run in the opposite direction now when they see me coming. And yes my scooter has decided it is tired of carrying me around in the hot, humid DC weather, but it decided to quit on me once I was safely back to the apartment and able to call for a repairman. Thus, all my melodrama and anxiety seems to have been wasted, and I am about to complete a first week I actually enjoyed. AAPD is really to thank for this, the orientation last week basically ensured I would not fall on my face.

2nd Week of AAPD Intern

During my second week here in the AAPD office, I have learned a great deal about the influence of social networking sites. As a communications intern, I help the communications director, Rebecca Panoff, manage AAPDs Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and various media outlets.

Many teachers these days discourage students from using Facebook and Twitter, telling us that it is nothing but a distraction in our lives, well I beg to differ. Facebook and Twitter believe it or not, can be more than a sanctuary of teenagers' private thoughts, pictures and friends. I realized this week that these networking sites can be a gateway into the plethora of information out there in the world and the internet and help all users be better connected to their respective groups and organizations.

One of my responsibilities is to find daily news about the disability community and share them through our social networking sites. At first, I doubted the significance of my daily task, I asked my self how posting news articles on our Facebook status and tweeting this kind of information can benefit the objectives of the AAPD, specially since the news we were posting had no particular connection to AAPD. The answer came to me as soon as I posted the first article on Facebook.

Seeing the "Like" number on each status go up every hour and reading the comments of the users helped me get a glimpse of how passionate everyone in the disability community is. Through these postings, we help influence the thoughts and attitudes of the members in our community and provide them information on what goes on with other disabled people in the nation.

I am excited to see how much more I can learn, not just regarding communications but with the political process, legislation and networking, throughout the summer with AAPD.

Week two: Welcome to the USDA

Week Two
One of my biggest fears before landing in the DC area was will I be able to make friends. I wasn’t sure who my roommates would be, or where would they be from. And will anyone be from a small town like me. My answers were soon answered. Yes, I would be able to make friends, and the first three would be William, Matt and Ron. Surprisingly enough not all my roommates were from the city either. William an amazingly honest but kind hearted individual was born and raised south of Atlanta Georgia. He grew up in a small town like myself, and shared very many of the same morals and interests as myself. Matt was from the big city of Chicago, the windy city, but we were both from the Midwest and soon began doing are normal pass times, late night walks learning our surroundings. Ron was from the BIG city of New York, and was very funny and entertaining. We hit it off like peas and carrots. Everyone was SO nice, accommodating, and generous. After just knowing Will a few days he took me to what would be the most amazing get together at Sandra and Larkin’s (from US Access Board) and they took me in like family, planning social events and networking dates for the next few weeks to come. William was like my big little brother because all though he was younger by a few years, growing up down south had matured him well past his age and was constantly helping me with my difficulties and short comings growing up in Wisconsin can cause one, like shyness.
My first day at work was overwhelming, I really wasn’t comfortable navigating the subway, and for some reason there was a little difficulty getting into the USDA building. Meeting my Supervisor put my heart to ease; she was so welcoming and assistive in my office networking. Sarah scheduled me a photo shoot and press coverage with the Secretary of agriculture, and is even allowing two of my friends, William and Anwar, to come and get their pictures taken as well. Life has never been so exciting and I owe this opportunity to AAPD!
Justin Patterson

My Adventurous Learning Experience

Good morning everyone. This is my first blog. I want to thank the American Association of People with Disabilities(AAPD) for helping me to be more open to further my career. It's all about social networking and making a successful future helping others.

Now let me introduce myself, I am Anwar Alumeyri a student of Rochester Institute of Technology majoring in Information Technology. I will be working on Microsoft .NET with the United States Department of Agriculture(USDA). I expect to share more about my employment experience once I start work.

During the most important day of the Orientation on Wednesday, I had access to text-to-speech captioning service called c-print. It's like closed captions for my lecture and discussion needs. Now you get the idea that I am profoundly deaf who can speak clearly with little understanding of American Sign Language(ASL).

Wednesday was a big day for everyone. I read several speeches about past interns who were part of the AAPD. They taught us their invaluable experiences working for the government. That it's important not to limit ourselves to one project, there's always a opportunity for us to be involved in other projects.

My most memorable lesson was from a presentation that taught me not to limit myself to my educational background. I have learned that no matter what educational or college background you have, you always can achieve anything you want to be from hard work. People with disabilities are forbidden to serve for the United States Air Force to fly planes. I Strongly believe that I am capable of making change. One day we will see thousands of people with disabilities working for the United States Air Force flying planes or even better, flying commercial planes.

Most importantly, I want to thank my mentor, Ryan for realizing my goals. I am currently learning more about my disability rights and I look forward to achieving more of my Professional and Academic goals. I also appreciate the contributions everyone has made during the social networking mixer, and meeting the guests was a honor.

Besides the Orientation, I have made new friends that I can count on. They were very generous to help facilitate my travels in Washington, DC. I will also do the same to help other people.

So far my experience in Washington DC was a blast.