This summer I worked as at Gryphon Scientific, a consulting firm which focuses on public health and national security. I worked with a team of biologists, computer scientists, engineers and others to tackle a couple different projects involving risk analysis and mitigation. While I can't go into specifics - I can say that these projects have a definite impact on some pretty significant science-related policy. My internship was perhaps a bit more science-oriented than others, but it spoke to my interests and utilized a lot of the skills I gained from MIT. I also had the added perk of being one of the only interns who had puppies in the office and could wear jeans to work!

Through the program we also had the opportunity to attend a ton of really interesting seminars, to meet lots of awesome MIT and UVA students and to make some good friends. DC is a fantastic place to be in the summer - with tons of sight-seeing and free events.

Before this summer I had no idea what working in 'policy' meant. This internship has changed that and inspired me to keep public health policy in mind as I pursue my career.