March 25th, 2024

Hi everyone! I recently went back home for Spring Break, which was a relaxing and rewarding experience for me, especially since I was able to see many of my family and friends. Coming back has put a lot more work onto my table, as midterms are coming up shortly and a big research paper has just been assigned for my Writing class. But, the cherry blossoms of DC are blooming, and walking past them everyday and seeing them in downtown is an awesome experience. This blog, I wanted to give y’all a quick check-in for my internship, and also talk about some of the stuff I do outside of classes and my internship!  

So far, my internship is going very well. Unfortunately, my direct supervisor left to go to another job :(((((((. However, I’m very happy for her because she got a promotion from press assistant to deputy press secretary for a Senator. With her departure, there hasn’t been much additional work, but I think that is because the SBA Administrator doesn’t have many trips this month. One pretty cool thing I’ve started to do is write tweets for the SBA Deputy Administrator. I wrote one for the State of the Union, a few about general visits, and a few more about general SBA announcements. It’s definitely crazy to see the stuff I write being sent out by a government official’s Twitter account, but I guess that’s the stuff that happens in DC. I’ve gotten the hang of my internship so far, the people are nice, and the work is fulfilling; basically, I’m having a great time and I am very happy I took the opportunity to do an internship through Cornerstone.  

Now moving on to some of the stuff I do outside of my internship and classes. I’m a big gym guy, as you may have seen from my last blog post. I go to the gym every day, as it’s become less of a chore and more of a fun activity for me to do. The feeling of flexing in the mirror or seeing yourself lose weight on the scale is unlike any other, which is why I push myself to exercise every day. I will also say that I enjoy eating different types of food from TDR (AU’s dining hall), and doing that without guilt is a major reason why I work out. AU’s gym is nice, just always crowded since it isn’t that big. AU itself has two gyms, one in Cassell Hall and one in Jacobs Center, and I personally go to the latter because it’s a lot bigger. But overall, I’m happy that I put working out into my daily routine, so I can continue to grow physically and mentally in college. 

Besides working out, I also am a member of two clubs I enjoy being part of: ACLU-AU and Voters of AU. The first is the American University branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, and we learn about pretty cool stuff, like civil liberties, becoming a lawyer, and how to advocate for yourself and others. Voters of AU is a nonpartisan club dedicated to increasing voter registration on AU’s campus and DC in general. Besides that, I also want to start a data science club, which I will probably do next year. There are not a lot of Data Science majors on campus, so I think it’s important for us to all help each other and enjoy our common interests. AU has a million different clubs, and I’m sure you’ll find the right ones for you if you choose to come here! 

As a whole, I’d say that everything’s going well right now. I’m locked in for academics, my internship is enjoyable, and I’m slowly making new friends. College is definitely one of the best times in your life, but everyone has different paths to discovering that, whether it’s through creating lifelong friendships, getting unforgettable opportunities, or just having a good time with the environment around you. I’ll have one more blog post before the end of my internship, but keep an eye out for my Instagram takeover on the week of March 31 - April 6th! Have a great day!  

March 4th, 2024

Hi everyone! As you all know, my name is Aditya Kataria, and I am currently interning at the Small Business Administration’s Office of Communication and Public Liaison. This blog, I wanted to show you all my class schedule throughout the week and how it fits around my internship. I’ll also talk about some of my responsibilities and the skills I have honed throughout my internship. Also it’s a bit difficult, I’ve been able to manage my time well, which I will showcase below!

If you recall, I have classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.

On Tuesday, I have three classes in a row, starting at 8:10 AM. I begin the day with my writing class, which is pretty boring but goes by relatively quickly. Unfortunately, that class gives A LOT of busy work, which makes it one of my harder classes. I then have my Intro to CS class, an intro class for my Data Science degree, which is a lot of my work but my professor is pretty good. I then finish off with my Power, Privilege, and Inequality class, which is my favorite class out of all of them. My professor is pretty young, very understanding, and makes the class a great way to finish off my classes for the day. I then do the most important activity in my day: take a nap ;). I then do work for a few hours, go to the gym, eat dinner, and then I’m in bed by 11:45 PM.

Wednesday is my easiest day, and the one where I can wake up the latest. I have just one class, Intro to CS, take a nap, and then I have a lot of time to do all my homework. I go to the gym a little earlier than normal and then do more work before finishing my day off with laundry. It’s always important to do weekly tasks on time so you don’t fall behind, which is something I achieve with a calendar I stick to. 

My last non-internship day is on Friday, which is my most difficult day. I have my first three classes than I also had on Tuesday, which is already super duper tiring. I then have an additional two classes that you will have to take if you join the Cornerstone program and are a freshman at AU: Cornerstone Practicum and AU Experience II. Cornerstone Practicum is where you go over your internship, get advice on how to interact with employees, and think critically about how to get the best result from your internship. AU Experience II builds on AU Experience I you do in your first semester and talks a lot about belonging and how to treat people equally. All of these conclude at around 4 pm, and then I relax for the rest of the day. 

To finish off, I’ll talk about some of my responsibilities in my internship. Most of what I do is related to disseminating information about the things that the Administrator of the SBA is doing. For example, I wrote a press release today about the Administrator's trip to Scranton, Pennsylvania, showcasing what she did and how she is fulfilling her mission of helping small businesses grow, I also do some administrative stuff that helps the agency run, like sending out the Agency Report (which describes the events of the Administrator, the releases for the events, and any interviews she will have) and updating the big Excel sheet we have of all the dates for events, press releases, press inquiries, and more. Besides that, I do whatever tasks my supervisor gives me, so I cover a pretty large amount of work throughout my day (which makes it easy to not be bored). 

As a whole, my weeks are pretty manageable, besides having to wake up pretty early. By staying on schedule and having good time management, I’m able to balance my internship, classes, sleep, exercising, and having fun. I hope a glimpse into my week was interesting and helps convince you to join the Cornerstone program!

Feb 12,2024 

        Hey y’all! My name is Aditya Kataria and I’m currently one of the AU Cornerstone Ambassadors. I’m from Fremont, California (part of the Bay Area) and I’m currently double majoring in CLEG and Data Science. I’m interning at the Small Business Administration, specifically the Office of Communication and Public Liaison (OCPL), as a Communications Intern. I have some experience working as a Communication Intern for my local state senator back in the Bay, but this experience has been completely new, which is expected considering I work in the federal government. Also, a little-known fact, the Small Business Administration’s Administrator, Isabel Casillas Guzman, is actually a member of President Biden’s Cabinet! I met her on my first day at the job which was a surreal experience, and it’s been great knowing that my work is having a measurable impact on such an important agency. Since this is my first blog post, I’ll go over my regular days as an intern!

        I work from 9 AM to 5 PM every Monday and Thursday. Thankfully, Monday is online and is pretty chill. I wake up at 7:15, get ready, and then go have a big breakfast. Then, I head to the library and spend around 3 hours working. My Monday mornings usually consist of working on the Agency Report, which is a collection of interviews and events for each day of the coming week. I compile the agency report from a “Week Ahead” document that I’m sent every Monday morning, as well as a “Trips” folder that I have access to. As you can see, there are a lot of moving pieces, which I’m sometimes confused by, but my supervisor helps keep me on track by answering any questions I have. After 12, I head back to my dorm room and join a few meetings. I don’t know much about what is happening in the planning meetings for the Administrator’s trips, but it is interesting to see how every individual office works together to keep everyone’s schedule running. I then finish off by writing some press releases and readouts and finish my day at 5. I relax and do homework for a few hours and then head to the gym. I eat dinner and then head to sleep early because I am TIRED.

        My Thursdays are a little more complicated. I wake up at 6:30 AM (the one reason I came to college was to not wake up early -_-), get ready (which takes extra time since I have to wear business casual), and then eat breakfast with one of my friends. I’m on the Wonk Bus by 8 AM, reach the Tenleytown-AU station by 8:20, and then take the metro. I take the VERY crowded red line to the Metro Center station and then transfer to the orange, blue, or silver line to go to the Federal Center SW station. Thankfully, the SBA headquarters is right next to the metro station, which makes my arrival time around 8:50 usually. I set everything up in my cubicle and then began work at 9. My day usually consists of writing press releases, contacting local news stations, transcribing and collecting interviews/news clips, and joining meetings. At 4 PM every day, the OCPL team has a daily check-in meeting, and then I leave promptly at 5 PM (I have a lot of work to do!). I get back to my dorm around 5:45 PM, change into normal clothes, and do homework for a few hours. I end my day off by going to the gym and then having dinner. By 11:30 PM, I am completely worn out, and I go to bed.

        So, as a whole, my internship days are pretty busy but I do work I enjoy. I was a little scared that 8 hours would go by super slowly, but my internship ends up finishing pretty quickly because I enjoy the work I’m doing. I look forward to writing my future blog posts and sharing any new experiences I have while interning!