This summer, I interned at the International Affairs office at the Department of Treasury where I worked closely with senior Treasury staff on current financial and economic policy issues. During my stay, economists and policymakers around the world became embroiled in the debt-ceiling negotiations going on in Washington. Treasury's actions, estimates, and research consistently made the headlines for a good portion of the summer, making for an incredibly exciting internship.

I provided research support in form of data analysis assignments mandated from my superiors and independent projects. Classes such as 14.05, 14.32, and 18.443 provided me with an arsenal of tools to tackle most of my assignments. Nevertheless, I did experience some on-the-job training in the form of learning what my supervisors expected of the quality and quantity of my reports.

I achieved my goal of learning how economic policy is conducted in the public sector. Many Washington economists work on smaller, simpler projects whose results are ready to be widely circulated days after their inception. In contrast, academic economists work on prolonged projects using sophisticated tools. I'm considering entering a Ph.D. program in economics, and this information will be useful as I decide my post-graduate future.