The Life of a DC Intern: Welcome to Orientation!

Michael Evers is a participant in the Religious Action Center's Machon Kaplan summer program for college students. He is a student at DePaul University and an intern at the Men's Health Network.

Getting oriented: That is basically what this past week has been all about. Landing in Washington last Sunday, I had no idea what was in store (and will be) for my fellow Machon Kaplan peers and me. From welcome dinners to the Library of Congress, all the way to the Jefferson Memorial in the boonies, summer thus far has been good. Luckily, work has been good, too. This summer I've been placed into an internship with the Men's Health Network, where, contrary to the name, I advocate for preventative measures to reduce the number of men with prostate cancer, so that families can be preserved and not torn asunder by the loss of a parent, brother, or spouse.

The reason I choose to work on this easily preventable issue, but one that is not given enough importance, is because I wanted to learn about what is going on with men's health. Similar to the first-year college student, I wanted to join something I had no knowledge about. For example, did you know that there is a division of Women's Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, but no Men's division? Practical, but hard to push through, especially when everyone is focusing on the macro issues of health care reform from Congress to the White House. Read. Learn. Choose. It's your government.

Speaking of those three verbs, Washington thus far has engrossed me with the amount of reading and learning that goes on here. The amount of information here is daunting and the choice is yours Planeteers about what you want to learn more about and engage in. There is the choice of picking up a daily Politico, Washington Post, CQ Politics, or, in a rush, Express for the morning commute, not to mention the readings for class with the various RAC staffers. Of course, all this reading and subsequent learning has taught me a good amount of information in addition to the experiential learning done at my internship.

But what about Judaism, you ask? Good question! Working in the District, I have already learned that Jews have always been a big part of social and reform movements, taking leadership and rank-and-file roles. The commitment and drive to social action and social justice is what brought many here before us to do the work of The Public, and that drive is what continues to fuel the work of young Jewish interns today.

Plus, it's pretty cool.