|
|
Back to:
|
MISSION
|
 |
As usual, I applied one day before the deadline, hoping that I was going to be accepted. The internship was on June 2nd, and on May 16 I received an e-mail from Elizabeth Cavert, and it said : "Congratulations! You have been selected to participate in the Summer 2000 HACU Internship Program." Oh man, I lost my breath for a moment. I called her that same day, and I'm told that I must give an answer -if I accept- the next day in the morning (Man!! that's less than a day to make a decision!!)
So I only have hours to decide for my future. The first person I speak to was my mom: "Mom, I had been accepted in this program and need to answer tomorrow." And she said: "Well, when are we leaving?!" "Wrong answer mom, you are not coming!" Then I spoke with my best friend, and somehow he was sad. But I knew this was good for me so I accepted.
I had a job, and quit after a year of service; its good to have a change! My degree is in Computer Sciences and the work I was going to do was on the same. So I was going to get computer experience with a Federal Agency in the United States and bring it back to Puerto Rico.
Friday June the 2nd arrived and there I was in the Airport. My mom -Idalia- was there, my young brother -Abraham- and my best friend -Candido-. It was sad. . .
There goes the puertoricans!! so radicals!!. It was a nice trip to Washington DC. There were eight interns on my plane. But when we got to DC there were like two hundred and fifty puertoricans!! Oh, we were loud since our arrival. We were staying at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria, DC. We all decide to party the same day we arrived so we made a PARTY! in one of the intern's room. Eight bottles of wine, four boxes of beer and a lot of fruits and chips!! What a night! ...we tried to wake up for orientation on Saturday.
I made a lot of friends; only four days and there's no way I could forget them. Keyla Flores was my best party partner. She is a beautiful puertorrican lady from Mayaguez. We always knew where the party was! My room partners where Andrew Ornes and William Medina in room 314. There was the Tex-mex, Juan (el mejicano que mata). Shannon, the sweeeeeeet Texas sweetie. Suzette Melendez, another beautiful puertorrican lady with a nice heart. Sergio Tigera was the Cuban boy with all the jokes. And there was Magda Marie, Annabelle, Mark, Justin, Robinson, Luis, Cleopatra, Ismael, Claude, Teresa, and all those interns I met: "thank you for being just who you are!!"
Saturday night is glow party!! Let's all go to Zei Club!! Party on DC was RAVE!! There goes the crew. Get your glow sticks and move like a schizophrenic. Sunday night, there we go again, all around the monuments. We went to the Capitol Building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Monument, around the streets to Subway, passing the FBI building, and to the Metro Station.
Monday was fun! Paramount Pictures King Dominion Amusement Park was our spot. The crew was Sergio, Hector, Lora, Pamela and me. A car was rented first, then we had lunch and we headed to the park. It took us an hour and a half to get there under a hard rain, but finding the place was very pleasant. We went on six rides in only an hour. And we headed back to the Holiday for a last room party, but this time there were like eight room parties around the building. I went from party to party, then I though that this was making me feel depressed: 'better get to my room and keep the good memories.' Every body was on a party trying to think that is really not ending tomorrow...
3:00 AM someone wakes me up at my room. 'Noel, I just wanted to say goodbye, 'cause you just disappear in a moment. Thank you for being a friend, I enjoyed a lot, please e-mail. ok! ' it was Keyla.
Tuesday morning is here. A large crew is waiting to pick the bus for the Airport. Soon all Field Interns will leave the Holiday Inn. We all promised we were gonna e-mail each other and we won't forget the good times.
The HACU National Internship Program exposes talented college students to a challenging set of professional and educational experiences in many different fields. It is a comprehensive program that provides travel expenses and a weekly stipend, and housing arrangements are made at a reasonable cost to the students if requested. The internships are located in Washington, D.C. and other locations throughout the country.
The interns are graduate or undergraduate students who attend institutions that enroll significant numbers of Hispanic students. The program applicants are involved in campus and community activities, possess GPAs of 3.0+, and are recommended by their advisors or professors. The programs run from 10 to 15 weeks. This way they promote work force diversity and enhance the job marketability of talented students.
