I worked at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Office of Water's Science and Technology Office. I worked with two different groups within the Office of Science and Technology - the Standards and Health Protection Division and the Health and Ecological Criteria Division. The Standards and Health Protection work I did involved researching for a newsletter about fish, shellfish, contaminants, and ecological issues such as algae blooms. I also helped edit and develop some risk communication documents for various stakeholders in human health. I was able to attend trainings and meetings about changes in the EPA and new policies, and learned a lot through talking to employees in the Office of Water and Office of Air. In the Health and Ecological Criteria Division, I did toxicology work, and read papers, collected information, and worked on presenting data about hundreds of chemicals and toxins. Through this I learned interesting information about health studies and how the EPA regulates chemicals. In addition to this work, the EPA had some intern get-togethers and events, such as visits to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving and the African American History Museum. The EPA is right across the street from the mall and all of the Smithsonian museums, so I explored those and downtown DC during lunch breaks. I also reached out to people working at many different levels throughout the organization and conducted informational interviews about their life paths and experiences. The things I enjoyed most about the summer were learning about how the federal government works, thinking about the challenges of environmental regulation and policy, and getting to know the fantastic people I was working with.