I loved the energy of DC--our office had a ninth-floor view of the Capitol, and it really connected the disparate work we all did to advocate for the transportation industry. In my position, I researched transportation finance, need, and safety. Most of the time, this made its way directly into Congressional testimony or reports for our members. Alongside this work, I was given freedom to revise and better recurring work that ARTBA does (weekly reports, data collection practices, etc). It was great to meet colleagues outside of the office and experience what Southeast had to offer. Being paid to work 30 hrs/wk was nice because it meant 3.5 day weekends!
What I wish was different
While most of my work made its impact known, some of the initiatives I had been most excited for did not make their way outside of our network drive. Totally reasonably, innovative methods couldn't be integrated into existing workflows due to the time needed to learn the new tools. I wish that I had the opportunity to design and execute a project start-to-finish that current capacity wouldn't normally allow for.
Advice
Working at ARTBA in any role is a great entrée into associations (trade associations, unions, chaptered organizations) and political advocacy. Take every chance to learn how your work impacts transportation and the policy process in general.
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Economics Intern
January - August 2017 • Washington, DC
What I liked
Wonderful people to work with! Genuinely interested in including me on projects and in company events. Trusted me to do good, interesting work (e.g. STATA, writing reports, analyzing data, writing for their website) instead of just busy-work or intern tasks. The few more menial things I did do were things that the entire company was working on (e.g. during an office move, helping with hosting conferences). They were also incredibly flexible about hours and extending the internship into the summer.
What I wish was different
More company-wide events- I mostly only saw the people I shared an office with, but liked everyone and would have enjoyed seeing them more.
