Dedicating oneself to a strong mentoring relationship can prove to be the most valuable step in the career trajectory of graduate school students and young professionals. Many of the ISH-DC residents, who bring impressive academic or professional backgrounds to the table, are at the crucial juncture of finding the next stepping stone in advancing their careers in DC and beyond.

The Career Roundtable event on the 27^th of September, 2018 gave ten of us the opportunity to learn more about what we can be doing now to enhance our job search in DC. We were joined by Cynthia Bunton, President of ISH-DC’s Board of Directors and President of CRBi, LLC, a strategic consulting firm, and Eric Melby, the Second Vice President of ISH-DC’s Board and Founding Principal and Partner of The Scowcroft Group, an international advisory firm in Washington, DC. Amidst a relaxing setting in the study room and treated to delicious cookies and brownies baked by Cynthia herself (Thanks a lot, Cynthia!), each of us put forward the different career-related questions we find ourselves asking at this stage.

I, for one, have recently started a graduate program in international development, and amidst a constellation of academic and community activities I had several questions on my mind – “How diversified or specialized should an internship or entry-level job be? What kind of skills does the job search process require? What are some top tips on networking?” As it turns out, a majority of the residents in attendance also shared similar questions and concerns. Cynthia and Eric enthusiastically provided us insights into the job-seeking scenario, giving us an added perspective drawn from their own experiences as career leaders. Their ideas on approaching and communicating with potential employers, building a professional network, and developing essential soft skills will certainly be helpful to us.

Rose Twagirumukiza, a current ISH-DC resident, moderated the discussion and shared with us her story of finding an effective balance between academics and actively looking for jobs.  My favorite part of the conversation was Cynthia and Eric’s encouraging words on dealing with initial setbacks in the job search process. “Rejection is redirection!” – I remember affirming aloud as this section of the discussion drew to a close.

Sometimes we just need a little push in the right direction, and the rest is history. I am thankful that this Career Roundtable event not only made us feel better-equipped to take on a fruitful job search process, but also gave us that little “push” to continue working hard in pursuit of our dream jobs.

After a very fast but wonderful summer interning in São Paulo, Brazil I am back in DC for my second year of graduate school at Georgetown. It was nice to return to ISH and campus as familiar places that I already knew I enjoy. It has been fun catching up with ISH friends, even those who now live elsewhere. Soon after getting back in August, I reconnected with a Brazilian friend who used to live at ISH and a resident from the UK who lived at ISH last fall for a short time and recently came back. I was happy to introduce them to Ethiopian food for lunch one day as we caught up about our summers.

The majority of faces at ISH now are new to me. My night class heavy schedule has prevented me from meeting people in the dining hall over meals, but there have been several fun events where I’ve gotten to know the new community. For example, the “9th Nonconsecutive Biannual International Student House Pub Quiz” was a great way to make new friends and brush up on random international trivia knowledge. My team had representatives from Pakistan, the UK, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, India, Germany and the US.  A current and former resident created and co-hosted the challenging and at times very random pub quiz. My personal favorite part was a worksheet task where we had to correctly identify and label pictures of current world leaders when they were teenagers.

The next big event where I got to connect with the wider ISH community was the Alumni Hosted Cultural Cookout. It was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy great food and good company. Alumni set up tables highlighting their home countries with food, beverages, music and art/cultural displays. I enjoyed tasting French wines while speaking French, watching students put together an African continent map puzzle, tasting some familiar food, and chatting with an alumnus at the Serbia table about my experience visiting Belgrade. Talking with alumni and new residents who are fellow graduate students or young professionals reminded me of how grateful I am to be apart of the ISH network. I am especially excited about the high number of African students at ISH compared to last year, including an Ethiopian student! I look forward to continuing to get to know new and old ISHers in the months ahead and beyond.

The month of April was a great time to be at the International Student House. The famous cherry blossom season usually starts around April 4^th (it lasts around a week) and I went to visit the Tidal Basin in D.C. on April 9^th. The National Cherry Blossom Festival started in 1912, when the Japanese Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City donated Japanese cherry trees to the city of Washington D.C. The cherry blossoms represent beauty and the fragility of life in Japanese culture, and it was such an amazing sight to experience in person! The whole walk in the Tidal Basin was filled with tourists from all over the U.S. and the world! I walked from the Washington Monument to the Jefferson Memorial and saw the beautiful blossoms along the way. There were many residents from the house that also went to see the cherry blossoms, and I ran into some of them there.

The Tidal Basin overlooking the Jefferson Memorial with an ISH housemate from Italy

This month was really hectic for my master’s program at Georgetown. We finish all of our classes by the end of April and then we have two weeks for final papers and final exams. I can’t believe that I am almost done with my second semester of my MSFS degree! I’ve spent the last two weeks applying to summer internships and going to interviews while trying to turn in my assignments and attending lectures. I received an offer to intern this summer at the World Bank and I am really looking forward to staying in D.C. for the summer and learning more about how this multilateral institution functions. The MSFS Service Committee organized an event for Earth Day and I volunteered to help pick up trash by the Anacostia River. It was great to see such a huge turnout in the midst of final exams and papers!

MSFS students volunteering on Earth day by the Anacostia River

What better way to end the week of classes before finals than to attend the Africa Night event at ISH? My roommate Zinna, who has some Ethiopian heritage, organized the Africa Night at the house with the other African residents. It was such an amazing event! They showcased typical food, drinks, clothes, flags, music and even dances from each of their respective countries: Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. While we were listening to music during the event, there was a slideshow playing in the background with interesting fun facts and pictures about African countries. I learned a lot! I had no idea that Sudan has double the number of pyramids that Egypt does. The residents really enjoyed the evening and I feel more energized to tackle my final exams.

MSFS students and residents at the Africa Night event