There are many things I could say about my semester interning in Washington, D.C. I could describe it as enriching, illuminating, thrilling, and challenging. All of these descriptors would be accurate in a sense, but they fail to encapsulate my experience in its fullness. What I learned, witnessed, and felt through the semester is more than I can capture with the mere poetry of language, but what would an Honors seminar be without content for a blog post? It’s not real unless it’s documented, or something along those lines. 

I should preface this reflection by noting that I am not an Honors student, and didn’t know about the program until applying for the Whitworth Smithsonian Semester. Since interning for the semester and getting to know my peers who are involved in the Honors program, I have been swayed into seeking out how to officially be an Honors student (thank you, Bert). I am certain I wouldn’t have been convinced to pursue something so late in my undergraduate career had it not been for the time I spent at the Smithsonian. 

Currently, I am a junior biochemistry major with plans to attend medical school sometime after graduating from Whitworth. When I first applied to the Smithsonian internship, I thought I would be assigned to a research project at the Museum of Natural History or the National Zoo. Although I expressed interest in the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, I did not expect to be considered for an internship there, let alone offered an internship position writing content for a digital magazine. 

When I was offered a chance to delve into another passion of mine, I couldn’t dismiss the opportunity. I was stretched out of my STEM comfort world, conducting research and interviews, writing my own stories, and editing the works of my peers. Often, I didn’t feel like I could offer much in the way of writing and artistically stringing words together to tell the stories of others. With the encouragement of my supervisor and my peers, I published a short holiday story about family tradition and am hoping to publish another story soon. I learned many practical skills from my internship relating to writing and active listening, which are valuable in their own right, but the growth and curiosity I honed from my time at CFCH are infinitely meaningful to me. 

The Smithsonian internship was central to my fall semester. It’s the reason I came to D.C. in the first place; but, my experience would not be complete without the required Whitworth classes. I have always been someone who takes great pride in learning and knowing more about the world I am surrounded by. The past two years have involved learning about the physical constructs of the world, what makes life possible, and how atomic and subatomic particles interact to create the universe as we know it. This semester, between Core 350 and the Smithsonian seminar, I learned more about the social constructs of the world. Not only did I learn about worldviews and politics, I was immersed in learning for learning’s sake. 

Through the course of the semester, I visited dozens of museums. I read The Museum Effect and delved deeper into the world of curation. While The Museum Effect was not my favorite book in the world, it gave me insight into museums and why people gravitate towards institutions like the Smithsonian in the first place. In my own experience, I understood the “museum effect” Jeffrey Smith argues for throughout his book.

 Perhaps the most valuable part of my education this semester was the education I received from museums I visited. I was exposed to worlds and realities I wouldn’t be exposed to otherwise. In the Hirschhorn, I was entranced by the works of women and gender nonconforming artists, often moved to tears. In the National Museum of African American History and Culture, I was transported through history in a visceral way. Even at my own internship site, though not a museum, I was faced with new opportunities to learn and grow. My visits to different museums throughout the weeks I was in D.C. flooded my brain with new knowledge and allowed me to think deeper about the connectedness of humanity as well as the ways we can move forward. In short, I became a better person, as Smith concludes. 

My understanding of myself, the world, and humanity has changed since August 25, 2022. I am changed, perhaps not in ways that are obvious to an outside observer, but in ways that will influence my personal worldview and decisions going forward. There is still so much in the world that I do not know or understand, but my education and experience this semester allowed me to reflect on just how much I don’t know, and gave me an opportunity to explore the wonder of that.