The 4th in DC…one day I’ll not soon forget. It’s a totally different atmosphere than any other place I have been on our nation’s birthday. We started the day by jumping on the Metro at 9 am heading downtown for the parade. We found a good spot to watch and camped out. We planted our chairs in a good shady spot on the side of the road and stayed there for three hours eagerly awaiting the parade. While waiting, we snacked, read our books and magazines, and walked around some of the nearby street vendors. The parade began with the different branches of the military marching through. I’m not going to lie, I got a bit emotional during this…it was a short time for reflection and deep gratitude. The troops were followed by various marching bands, floats, and people groups. The parade was pretty cool to see, most likely because I was sitting in the nation’s capital watching it. After the parade, we had lots of time on our hands. We walked some of the monuments and finally found a perfect shady spot to wait for the fireworks directly in front of the White House. Around 5 pm, everyone was evacuated off of the National Mall due to incoming weather. I was so worried that we would not get to see the fireworks! However, after about 45 minutes we were free to go and we got our spot back. There was a live concert at the Washington Monument, so my friend and I walked over to check it out. Country music, not my thing, but it was cool to go over and see all the people there since the place was packed. Finally, it was time for the real show…DC fireworks! They were great…it was like the grand finale in my hometown for the entirety of the show. We were so close we could feel the explosions in our chests. It was so cool to hear the patriotic music playing in the background along with the exploding fireworks. All in all, the 4th was a day well spent and a great experience that I was able to enjoy as part of the Catalyst team.

Henry Bi
7.10.07

Our office in Seattle might not be like the typical dark wood, leather lounge corporate office, but with the open cubicle and a few desks, we three young hardworking gentlemen (Robby, D., and I) are contributing our part to The C4 Group. Let me describe our office to you -  150 square feet with three desks, two shelves, some minimal decor (both personal and C4, of course), a filing cabinet, and one trash can turned basketball hoop. One great thing, it is located in the middle of the administrative office building of Northwest University, so it is a privilege to work around some great leaders.

A day in the office starts at 8 o’clock, and usually I try to get my project list straightened up before I start anything. I plan out what are some of the important projects I need to accomplish and start knocking them out as the day goes on. At times I might be doing research, writing some articles, designing presentations, or monitoring one of our online youth forums. The feeling of accomplishment is always great when I cross out each goal I’ve met. During our break we might have a little pen throwing competition or a quick trip to Starbucks across the street.

Today I’m working at my school, the University of Washington, because I have a few projects that I need to go to the library to research. First, I need to finish writing this blog thing, then I’m heading to the Law Library. Never thought I would ever go into that building, I hear they eat undergraduates alive, but I’m excited to do some research about music piracy cases for the Ethical Revolution website. After that, I’m meeting up with the guys (Robby and D.) for lunch, then with the Kappa Sigma (my fraternity) philanthropy chair to discuss our philanthropic donation process. So I’m doing pretty much hands on stuff today, which is nice change from just setting in the office all day.

Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. The Catalyst Internship Experience isn’t like eating ice cream or anything, but it’s definitely pretty sweet.

Theresa Voge
7.2.07

Let me give you a bit of a timeline. Arrive in DC. Get a wicked blister from my new shoes. Make a mental note to never break in shoes on a day where I know I am going to be doing a significant amount of traveling. Spend a week getting used to the lay of things like mi casa, the office, and the bus routes. Spend a couple of rockin’ days in orientation. During orientation, meet with Monty and find out that I will be attending a luncheon at Senator Landrieu of Louisiana’s personal residence in two weeks in honor of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s Foster Youth Interns.

Hold up!

I am an incredibly impatient person. I get excited about events as soon as I found out about them and start working on important details like what I’m going to wear. So, to find out two weeks beforehand that I was going to have this kind of out-of-this-world awesome opportunity was almost too much.

Let’s cut to the day of the luncheon. I’m excited about my outfit because it’s one of my favorites. The day isn’t too humid so my hair isn’t going to frizz out, which is good, but my nerves are everywhere. I have never been to a luncheon of this magnitude and I am so on edge I don’t even really feel hungry, even though the food looks so yummy.

The luncheon goes off without a hitch—we had representatives from several congressional offices in attendance, Senators Landrieu and Larry Craig (Idaho) speak—but the highlight of the event is when three of the FYIs speak. These guys and girls are stinkin’ awesome! These talented, passionate and driven young leaders have spent the formative years of their life in foster care and spend a summer interning in congressional offices. I was particularly moved by JJ Hitch, a FYI in Senator Debbie Stabenow’s office, as he spoke of change and shared that “the change that is moving the slowest for me right now is learning the hard way how to grow from a boy into a man when I know not what the definition of one.” To me, this statement seemed to represent the courage and ambition present in all of the FYIs. 

I really can’t even believe that I get to spend my summer being around people and places that are so fabulous - being a Catalyst intern is totally rocking my world. And, hopefully, my work here will help to rock the world for the youth of the current and next generations.