Washington semester influential

When Derek Pyburn was looking into colleges, he knew there was one thing his future school needed to have — an opportunity for work experience.

Fast forward four years, and Pyburn was finally able to take hold of that opportunity. Last semester, he took part in Liberty’s Washington Semester Fellowship (WSF), a program that facilitates internships and housing for students looking to gain professional work experience in Washington, D.C.

A New Hampshire native, Pyburn went into the internship unsure of whether he would like living in a city and skeptical that his daily duties would consist of anything more than making coffee.

“I didn’t think I was going to like it, but now I’m doing everything I can to move back,” Pyburn said. “There’s so much to do. I don’t think there was ever a night where after I got back from work I stayed in the rest of the night.”

Along with the other interns, Pyburn was able to go to the city’s museums, monuments and different events, including the Glenn Beck and John Stewart rallies. He also got the chance to live a mere three minutes away from the Capitol building.

Although the location was good, Pyburn said that the apartments were tiny, and he had to adjust to living in a one-bedroom apartment with three other interns from Liberty. He also had to get used to working in an office.

“The biggest change was actually working and shutting off the school environment,” Pyburn said. “At the beginning of the internship, I found myself always standing and walking around because it was weird sitting all day and being confined to one room.”

Pyburn worked five full days a week as a domestic policy intern for the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Health Policy Analysis. While there, he assisted analysts in research and also wrote for the Heritage Foundation’s blog.

“When I first got to Washington D.C., it was a shock because they expected us to be able to (know) things. They didn’t ask if you knew it, you just did it,” Pyburn said. “You had to learn or you’d be way behind and not able to get anywhere.”

A few short months after he had adjusted to life in Washington D.C., Pyburn found himself sitting in classes again for his final semester at Liberty.

“I thought I learned more working the three months there than I learned the three years here because it’s just so fast and pushed right on you,” Pyburn said.

As graduation quickly approaches, Pyburn said that he feels that participating in the WSF was good preparation for the future.

“It was definitely a good experience because it was good relevant work experience and it was good to interact with other college students. It painted a picture of how different the academic and work world was,” Pyburn said.

The experience also gave him the opportunity to reinforce lessons he had learned in class.

“It showed that what the program here teaches is on par with what conservatives think. When I got to (my internship) I got a whole different view of opinions,” Pyburn said.

Pyburn encourages students of any major to take advantage of the WSF. Kelsey Lebel, Placement Coordinator for the WSF, echoes this.

“I think it’s a huge eye opener for many students who have never worked in a professional environment before. They are challenged and stretched to step up to the standards of Washington D.C. employers,” Lebel said.

In addition, many WSF students come away with future contacts for job opportunities and some even come away with jobs.

“Many students are hired as a direct result of their internship and others are able to apply their experience and the skills they have learned to a future career,” Lebel said.

To learn more about the WSF, contact the Career Center or go to www.liberty.edu/washington.

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