Week 1 of Work Update!!
Happy Sunday y’all! This past week is one I will never forget. My first week working at FEMA HQ, a government agency, IN WASHINGTON DC. Before diving into this update (which is going to be a long one so grab your coffee and get comfy) I want to reflect for a minute. When I think back to a month ago, I was nervous as heck sitting in trainings on campus in Sacramento, and now I am HERE… I am just so thankful and excited. This job is HARD. There have been moments that I have wanted to go home and moments that I have felt I am not capable of doing this job. Remember how I said it’s important to remember that YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS. This past week amid the excitement, stress, new experiences and environments, I had to take a step back and take my own advice. So yes, I went into the bathroom on the 8th floor of HQ, wiped my tears away, looked into the mirror and said to myself (after making sure I did not have an audience in any stalls) “Leah… GET IT TOGETHER! You can do hard things! So, pick yourself up, remind yourself that you are stronger than you think, and get back out there”, and so I did! Now let’s get into it.
I have been to DC before, but as a tourist. Now, I am in DC as a federal working gal. Something that I did not see when exploring the area as a tourist is THE TRAFFIC. I was in shock how long it took us to drive from our hotel in Alexandria to the national mall. I mean I thought Jersey traffic was bad. It took us an hour to drive 8.2 miles to our destination. Once we got to FEMA HQ it was so surreal! We started off with a tour and then dove right into the Office of External Affairs (OEA) where we will be working for the next two months. One of the many cool things about OEA is the different divisions it consists of, which include: Congressional Affairs, Press Office, Disaster Operations, Speakers Bureau, Intergovernmental Affairs, Communications, and Public Affairs. In addition to the division heads getting our team resume prior to our arrival, we also got the chance to speak with them in person and share a little more about ourselves and our individual interests. From there, the division heads were able to talk with their teams and decide which members they wanted to join their team. It reminded me of a game show when the judges are deliberating! While the judges (division heads) were deliberating (deciding), my team had the chance to sit in on a media training in which some of the senior directors of FEMA were learning how to best conduct press interviews and how to interact with reporters. There is a whole media room is used for interviews and TV news segments for FEMA. There is some crazy high-tech equipment here!
Now for the team members division distribution and assignments! Two of my members are working with intergovernmental affairs, one member is working with public affairs and my fourth member is working with communications! I was selected to work with disaster operations which is currently swamped with work and calls with anyone and everyone due to Tropical Storm Fiona hitting Puerto Rico and the coastal storm that is hitting Alaska. I have had the opportunity to be on internal calls including FEMA staff as well as external calls that include FEMA staff, FEMA regions, the CDC, federal partners, DHS, as well as the white house. HOW COOL IS THAT?? In addition to our individual assignments, the director of the Office of External Affairs met with our team to present a team task. We have been asked to come up with a system for reaching out to staff’s alma mater college magazines and working with them to get alumni articles published. Our goal is to tell the stories of how the staff member ended up working for FEMA and what steps were taken to get them to this point in their career. I am really excited for this opportunity because I love writing (clearly) and it is an honor to be able to interview and be part of telling the story of such admirable individuals. By the time our round here at HQ is over, the goal is to leave a step-by-step guide for staff to continue getting these stories published and getting the word out about FEMA. Most college students do not even know about the wide variety of careers and opportunities within FEMA, but I am hopeful that our articles will change that! I am excited to share updates, progress and opportunities that come with the next few weeks, so stay tuned!
As for exploring DC, there just are not enough hours in the day! This past Saturday, I had the chance to go to Georgetown to explore and shop with some of the other team leaders here and it was so fun. We went to the steps that are in the movie The Exorcist and David, one of the team leaders here, was so excited it was so fun to be there and experience that with him! We went both up and down the stairs and that was my workout for the WEEK. It was a struggle, thats for sure. On Sunday the team leaders and I went to the Hirshhorn museum which is definitely one of my favorites. It is the perfect size and I am just such a sucker for modern art! While weekends are always fun, I was really looking forward to getting back to work on Monday because I knew it would be busy due to Tropical Storm Fiona which is now a HURRICANE. To say the past two days have been busy is an understatement but they have been so interesting and thrilling and oh gosh I sure have a lot to share with y’all!! I am already excited for next weeks post and I have not even finished writing this one yet!
Rose: Starting work at HQ! IT IS AWESOME!
Bud: Sitting in the NRCC and watching all the magic happen while it is activated for Hurricane Fiona.
Thorn: THE HUMIDITY. Never did I ever think I would say I miss the dry Sacramento heat… but I do!!
Catch ya next week!
xo, L