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I’m 336 hours into my summer internship with The Center for Education Reform, and today is my last day. When I first arrived at the office in Bethesda, I was unsure of what the summer had in store for me. I knew that I pursued this internship to learn more about education policy and reform, but I had a very abstract idea of why this really mattered to me. After these eight weeks, I now know how critically necessary reform is in the policy discussion. I am also just relieved to know that there are so many different voices involved in education policy, which I was uncertain of prior to my time here.

In my first blog post, I expressed interest in developing a comprehensive understanding of core education issues and proposed solutions. I am pleased to say that not only do I have a more in-depth grasp of the concepts, but I am now able to be more critical of arguments and ideas concerning reform. After being exposed to various voices in education policy and reform, I have seen and heard from different sides of the same issue. I am proud of how much I have learned in such a compressed amount of time.

The different research projects, events, and discussions that I have experienced during my time at CER have helped me to cultivate my own opinions on issues. I came in with a fuzzy conception of education reform, and a limited scope of possible solutions. I have had the opportunity to learn more about issues that I had not previously focused on. For instance, getting exposure to STEM education in action at the Goddard Space Flight Center really awakened me to the importance of STEM education outreach efforts. Researching all of the charter schools opening in fall has not only shown me how important charter schools are to our educational system, but how different they can be in their goals and operations.

I have also met so many people engaged in public policy and working in education reform. This has been a wonderful opportunity to not only learn about the issues, but all of the different ways in which people are deciding to tackle the issues. At various events, including the one hosted by my colleagues and I, I have met people from all kinds of career trajectories and work environments. Even among the CER staff and my fellow interns, I have learned so much about how and where I can be active in the policy reform movement. Every bit of this internship has been a learning experience, and I am very proud of every new skill that I have learned, every new name that I have heard, and every challenge that I have met.

I grew a lot this summer. All in all, I worked towards my goals and learned more than I could imagine concerning education policy and reform. I’m excited to have a more concrete understanding of the field and now I can move forward in my professional development knowing that education policy is definitely in my future. To the CER staff and my fellow interns, thank you for a wonderful summer.

Adiya Taylor, CER Intern