by Edwidge Labbe
During my second year at the University of Florida, I got seriously involved with the Beyond120 Program through the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. My first introduction to the program was in a video call with the Associate Director, Brittany Grubbs-Hodges. I told Britany how incomplete my college experience felt – that graduation was steadily approaching, and I had nothing to show for it in regard to the career I wanted to pursue. That specific summer, I had my heart set on securing an internship in Washington, D.C. because I always knew I wanted to be involved in the public sector in some capacity. From there, Brittany put me in contact with the Associate Director of the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, Marianne Vernetson, who connected me with internship opportunities, as well as individuals working in the DMV area.
Prior to the conclusion of our call, Brittany mentioned the Washington, D.C. excursion that the Beyond120 Program was hosting in May. As someone who was still getting adjusted to life on campus, I was completely unaware of the avenues and opportunities that were made available to social science majors at UF and how we can leverage our education into tangible job outputs. Thankfully, I got to participate in the Washington, D.C. Excursion in May of 2022 where a group of 19 undergraduate students & I had the opportunity to visit places like the United States Capitol, the World Bank Group, and the headquarters of Gannett (to name a few). The excursion lasted for about five days and every single day yielded a different experience whether that be learning how to draft the perfect resume, examining the progression of the U.S. History through the paintings on the Rotunda, or understanding the University’s role in federal relations. Many of the sites and cities we visited had a lot of intentionality behind them – more often than not, we visited Gator Alumni who had recently graduated or were well seasoned professionals that were more than willing to offer their expertise in how they broke into their industries and the pathways they took to get there.
I think my greatest takeaway from the Washington D.C. excursion was to be willing to deviate from “the plan.” In my beginning stages of undergrad, I was very set on just graduating and pursuing the next thing – not really allowing myself to explore my interests or passions firsts. However, after listening to the stories of the alumni on that excursion and hearing how they finally found their footing when they were willing to choose the option that scared them the most, that’s when I began to deviate from my own “plan.”
Fast forward to the end of that excursion, I was able to secure an internship in D.C. where I worked as a legislative intern in the United States House of Representatives. To this day, I am very grateful for having been a participant on the Washington D.C. excursion because many of the Gator Alumni I connected with on that trip ended up being my mentors as I worked on Capitol Hill. It was relieving to enter a new city knowing that I was going to have a network of Gators from the Swamp who were willing to support me throughout my summer in D.C.
