Mid-Term Musings
by Jassi Martin (’23)
As our cohort reaches the halfway mark of our semester in D.C., I am reminded that I shouldn’t be sad it’s over, but smile because it happened. Before arriving in Washington, I questioned myself. Would I fit in the group? Will my internship be fulfilling? Can I manage the workload? And I’m glad that I can now answer all these questions with a joyous and confident response. This week particularly highlighted the beauty of being here.
I am interning at Common Cause this semester as a policy intern, and every day I learn valuable working-world lessons that can’t be taught in the classroom. My boss has introduced me to many lobbyists and advocates for government accountability, which has fully immersed me in the nonprofit world. Notably, the past few weeks, I have been collaborating with an ACLS Fellowship Scholar and professor from Princeton on a report exposing the lack of accountability within the Sheriff System. Learning how big of an effect pay-to-play politics has at the local level in our system alarms me, and I’m glad to be a part of the group which uncovers it. The organization’s tagline “holding power accountable” resonates with me much more profoundly as I live in Washington. Specifically, my work at Common Cause has shown me how America is becoming a stratified society–which I hope our generation will be able to overcome in the face of political dissent and climate change.
This week was filled with an interesting speaker, a trip to a law firm, and most importantly, a visit from President Wente herself. On Wednesday, our group heard from former attorney and congressional staffer, Kevin Ring. Known as one of the defendants in the Abramoff scandal, he served twenty months in prison for corruption and wire fraud; Mr. Ring’s right-winged political ideology served as an interesting deviation from weekly speakers in the past, especially during this lacking time of bipartisan effort. He spoke to us about how his perception of mandatory sentences and being tough on crime changed through his career and how legislatures group all criminals into the worst bracket. I left the talk thinking about his perception of the judicial system and whether he was a victim of it.
Our group visit to Hunton Andrews Kurth to hear from former Wake Forest football-player-turned-lawyer Wendell Taylor was inspiring. Listening to him speak about overcoming a deadly illness at twenty to becoming a managing partner and podcast host of “Our Pain” motivates me to work my hardest and have no regrets. While law school is not in my sights, hearing about his activist work and experiences that led him to where he is now was invaluable. As a group, Mr. Taylor’s words reached deep and provided foresight to many in the room who want to follow his career steps.
During the weekend, President Wente visited our apartments to hear about our experience in D.C. and for feedback on what needs improvement at Wake Forest. She presented to us three goals for the university: accountability & accessibility, belonging, and impact. But I also believe these takeaways can be applied to our experiences in D.C. Undoubtedly, every person in the group has learned more about themselves this semester through taking risks and venturing into the unknown, pushing us all closer towards our ultimate goals and passions. It meant a lot to have her take the time to meet with us, and we all left the talk feeling like we were heard.
In our free time, a couple of us ventured to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence that Nicholas Cage kindly returned. Unfortunately, multiple sections were closed due to the pandemic, but it was still fascinating to see century-old documents like the Magna Carta be preserved for us to see. The remainder of the weekend was spent visiting a local farmers’ market, preparing authentic ramen, and walking around the National Mall.
This semester has prompted me to introspect about what I want as a career. Before coming, the finance path was what appealed to me. But now, seeing the dichotomy between political and fiscal work, I have begun to reconsider. Having Wake Washington as my study abroad semester has expanded my horizons in ways that the campus life back at Wake Forest could never. And I implore anyone interested in the program to go for it.