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It feels like it was just yesterday that I was walking across the Syracuse University campus, checking my email and learning that I received a position as an intern for the summer here at The Center for Education Reform (CER). That was almost five months ago now. I look back at my time here at CER this summer and I almost don’t recognize the girl who thought a voucher was just something used at a retail store to get 50% off!

On my first day, I was told countless times that I would get as much from this internship as I put into it. What I wasn’t told was that I would learn more in these six weeks than in any college semester. Meeting real education reformers taught me that this work never ends but that there are real results. We (yes, I would say I’m a reformer now) are helping real live people who need a voice in those scary marble halls of the Capitol. It’s important to remember who we’re fighting for with all these policy briefings and panel discussions. The future of America is in our hands because we’re the ones fighting for those who can’t always fight for themselves.

My experiences here at CER have been vast. From spending afternoons in those scary marble hallways of the Capitol, to planning events, and listening to some truly inspirational panel discussions, this summer has taught me more than I ever expected. A personal favorite of mine was an entrepreneurship panel, titled “The State of Entrepreneurship in K-12 Education” at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). This panel proved to me that education does not simply need to be a teacher in front of a classroom but in fact, it is an entire army of people working to help better the way in which classrooms are operating in today’s society. There are people working everyday to improve the state of education and create new ways for people, not just children, to learn by utilizing the newest most innovative thinkers. Technology in the classroom does not simply mean putting a device in every child’s hands; it’s about using these devices to support what the classroom teacher is already doing. Technology has the potential to transform education but at the moment it is simply being used as a way to amplify what schools have already been doing not change the field.

My experience at CER has been one that I will never forget. I’m eternally grateful to have been given this opportunity to grow, learn, and see what the movement is truly about. Thank you to the CER staff for teaching me all that they could and answering any questions I had. To my six other interns this summer, I truly hope it isn’t goodbye and if you need me you know you can always find me on Twitter!

Ciara O’Sullivan, CER Intern