I wake up at 6:30 every morning; I walked to the White House during my lunch break yesterday; my friends always ask me if I’ve photocopied anything lately; and I sent over 100 work-related emails today, before I was splashed with window-washing water while waiting for free coffee: I am one of the thousands of interns who have flocked to D.C. this summer.

I have flocked from my small hometown in western Massachusetts, where we have neither great museums, nor monuments, nor metros. I just finished my sophomore year of college, and I’m double-majoring in Psychology and Public Policy with a concentration in children. I’d like to pursue a career in nonprofit/service work, so I chose to come to D.C. this summer to get some experience and do some good. I’ve had a great time so far: I went on a monument tour, visited the zoo, and caught the Nats/Yankees game last Sunday.

I feel extremely fortunate because, not only have I seen and done a lot of awesome things, but also because working at First Book is my absolute dream internship; I helped to start a Campus Advisory Board (CAB) at my college during the 2^nd semester of my freshman year, and my involvement as the CAB co-chair has definitely deepened my commitment to child literacy. It’s one thing to teach a child reading strategies, but it’s something completely different to provide that child with books so that he/she can go home and practice the strategies you’ve imparted and cultivate a love of literacy.

When I showed up at the First Book office last week (I actually confessed to some of the staff that coming to the office was the equivalent of making a pilgrimage to Mecca for me), I was wicked excited to meet all of the people with whom I’d done countless conference calls and to whom I’ve sent so many emails!

I’m working with the Book Bank team, and they’re all really fun, motivated people who have given me more than enough projects to keep myself occupied while they’re doing a Book Relief distribution in Baton Rouge this week.

I wanted this internship so that I could experience the behind-the-scenes action of a national nonprofit. So far, I’ve met some incredible people, sat in on a few meetings, sent a ton of emails (all work-related!), and entered a lot data into a spreadsheet. I hadn’t realized the significance of emails and data entry until I got here and realized that communication and information-availability are essential to the functioning of a nonprofit organization like First Book. While I recognize that the organization won’t grind to a halt if I’m late for work one day, I also know that I am doing my part, however small or great, to get books into the hands of children who need them.

I was told by a speaker at an event for interns that “Interns are at the absolute bottom rung of the ladder. The sooner you realize and accept that, the better your experience will be.” Well, I may be at the bottom rung of the ladder right now, but that means I can only go up from here.