Updated March 25th
Aidan Oliver is Rotary Toronto Eglinton's George Heintzman - GEM Travel Bursary winner. In her blog, Aidan shares her experiences as an intern at the Canadian Embassy, Washington DC
March 25, 2020
Dear friends,
I hope you are doing well and staying healthy during this time.This end of my internship blog post is coming to you sooner than I thought. The last few weeks have been full of unknowns and unexpected developments. Due to COVID-19 the embassy went down to essential staff only and all interns were advised to return home. Luckily, I didn't have to go through the airport as one of the other interns and I were able to rent a car and drive back. I am now writing to you from my 14-day self-quarantine period. Because of my travels I'm staying away from my family for two weeks in order to ensure that we all stay healthy especially due to my sister's underlying health conditions. I am spending these two weeks in my home with a friend from D.C. who had no place in Toronto. Fortunately, we are alone together so to speak. I am grateful to have lots of books to read, a fridge full of food, a share of toilet paper (which may become the new currency in the coming weeks) and an online exam to study for so I'm definitely keeping busy.
My time at the embassy, despite being cut short, taught me valuable lessons about my career interests and how to move forward. For instance, when talking to many foreign service officers at the embassy the importance of speaking multiple languages was emphasized. After hearing what they had to say, I realized it's critical for me to perfect my French. I wanted to spend the summer working and learning in France as I believe immersion is the best way to pick up new languages. However, I may have to use my imagination a bit and travel instead to a virtual France. I also learned so much about what I want in a career: I want something that allows me to help others, see the world and continue learning - diplomatic work is the perfect fit. I learned that there are many roads that lead into the foreign service and hearing different people speak about their career paths gave me lots of perspective. I also learned that the embassy I worked in was quite unique - such a large embassy allows for a large degree of specialization. There are few other embassies in the world that would have a team of seven people working exclusively on energy and environment files. As I am currently enrolled in an Environmental Geography minor at the University of Toronto, I got to learn a lot about what a career in the field might look like. As someone who is considering law school as an option, having a supervisor who went to law school and is so knowledgeable about environmental law was incredibly valuable. I am exceptionally grateful to the whole Environment and Energy team for taking me on and being so welcoming. The team will reach out to me if there is anything that I can help them with online but considering my job required me to attend hearings and events, there is little that can be done at this time.
I also want to acknowledge that I had the most incredible cohort of interns. I foresee us running into each other in postings all around the world in our future careers as they are all exceptional people with vast potential. So far we've been keeping in touch and we even had an online video call birthday party for one of the interns last night. It was definitely sad to leave D.C. and the amazing friends I made there.
I always want to connect with other Rotarians and Rotaractors and had made plans to attend a volunteering event with the Rotaract club in D.C. Unfortunately the event was cancelled due to COVID-19 and I was unable to connect with them. I hope that in future travels abroad I will be able to make connections with the Rotary family.
I want to thank you all for following along on this journey, for taking interest in what I do and for supporting my work. I could not have done this without you and I look forward to future Rotary events where I would be happy to share more about this journey.
Aidan Oliver, an intern in quarantine.
March 4, 2020
Hey everyone and happy March!
Time sure is flying here in D.C.! Since my last post I’ve been running around the city attending a multitude of fabulous events and reporting back on them at the embassy. Last Friday I attended a briefing on “The threat profile of global climate change”. I’m fascinated at looking at the climate crisis through a security lens because I feel it is one that will pressure leaders to take action. New passages are opening up as ice is melting and while that may allow for more transport, the security threat that poses to many countries including the United States and Canada is huge. Another noteworthy event that I attended was a hearing at the U.S. House of Representatives that was focused on the H.R. 5859, the “Trillion Trees Act.” U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman who introduced the act stated that the Trillion Trees Act would result in reduced carbon emissions through consumer based tax credits as well as contribute to reducing carbon dioxide already present in the atmosphere. While witnesses generally agreed that trees are an important tool in reducing atmospheric carbon, some argued that it would take 20-25 years to see an impact from this measure and therefore reducing fossil fuel use and avoiding deforestation should be the key focuses. This is an interesting argument and a hotly debated topic.
Another hearing I attended this week was the Environmental Protection Agency Budget Hearing. It’s hard enough for me to try to wrap my head around my own finances never mind the finances of the Environmental Protection agency... But in all seriousness, I actually found this hearing particularly interesting as it centered on the Trump administration’s proposed 27% cuts to the EPA’s budget. Energy and Commerce Chairman, Frank Pallone and Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Chairman, Paul Tonko, argued that the agency is failing to protect Americans from PFAS contamination, unsafe drinking water and climate change among other threats while EPA administrator Wheeler, argued that the EPA is making huge strides. It was interesting to hear this dialogue. A final highlight of last week’s events was a conversation on Addressing Plastic Waste that was held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies where U.S. Senator Tom Udall talked about his Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act. I was interested in this because plastic use and waste is an issue that angers me deeply and I was happy to see that solutions are being discussed.
I won’t go into more detail than that in case you are starting to snooze. I’ll break up the policy talk with a quick warning – never attempt a juice cleanse. The lowlight of my week was when one of my roommates and I decided it would be an excellent idea to drink vegetable juice exclusively for three days in an attempt to balance out the student diet we’ve been living on since leaving home. Suffice it to say we made pasta by 7pm on the first day and have been trying to sell delectable mixtures of kale, spinach and cucumber to every intern that walks in the door of our house. Like there are many solutions to the climate crisis, there are many paths to achieving excellent health – and juiced kale doesn’t have to be one of them. On a happier note, my supervisor and I have officially selected the 2020 summer intern and I am very excited for her to have this same incredible experience that I am getting to have here in D.C.!
Until next time!
Aidan Oliver, an intern abroad.
February 26, 2020
Hey there!
I’m back with some more updates on life in the District of Columbia!
While it really feels like I’ve just got here it is already time to pick the intern for the summer session which will begin in May. Lately I’ve been helping my supervisor with this process and man it’s awesome to be on the other side of the interview process for a change! We received many applications and narrowed it down to five interviews. All of the candidates interviewed quite well so we have a tough decision on our hands! As someone who has gotten to experience for myself how incredible this internship is, I want to make sure it goes to the right person and I think that all of our candidates would benefit immensely from their time here. This has also led me to consider my own summer and to consider various internship and work opportunities – it’s going to be pretty impossible to beat interning at the Embassy in Washington D.C.
I have also gotten to explore some new events at a variety of organizations and think tanks around DC, averaging about one event every day in the past week! One of the highlights this week was an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) a popular U.S. think tank. At CSIS I learnt about innovation in battery technologies which is very applicable to the work my department does on renewables. I also had the opportunity to attend other events to learn about topics unrelated to energy and environment – a briefing on the use of Artificial Intelligence in Criminal Justice was of particular interest to me.
Outside of work I have been enjoying the city, the warm temperatures, the free museums and my new favourite Starbucks where I have been working tirelessly on wrapping up an intro to international relations course for university.
I look forward to my next post and the week to come!
Aidan
February 11, 2020
Hello again!
The past week has been super exciting here in D.C. Last week I got to attend an event titled “Looking north: Conference on security in the Arctic” which was all about how to increase security in this region in the face of climate change. Melting ice is opening up new routes in the arctic at faster and faster rates and this is changing the dynamics and interactions between arctic and near-arctic states. I might sound like an eight year old at a Justin Bieber concert here but I was thrilled out of my mind to be able to attend this event at the Residence of the Ambassador of Norway to the United States located on Embassy Row. It was a lovely event and an opportunity to hear from experts and senior government officials on this pressing issue.
I also attended an amazing event at American University Washington College of Law on Air Quality and Environmental Justice. The topic of Environmental Justice is relatively new to me but it combines many of my interests and therefore captured my attention. In this event they talked about how even within a city the effects of climate change are not evenly spread. Especially here in the U.S. communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change. An excellent quote by former president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker was brought up by one of the panelists, he said “We all know what to do, but we don’t know how to get re-elected once we have done it.” This caught my attention because it showed me how badly we need to change corporate and social thought and encourage people to take action. If we don’t, climate gentrification will continue to occur and low income people will continue to be pushed out of their own communities by buyers who are looking to re-establish their properties inland away from the threat of rising sea levels. The people who contribute the least to climate change should not be suffering the most.
I was also asked to volunteer at an event where Premier Ford had a fireside chat with the CEO of the Canadian American Business Council here in Washington, D.C. This was an interesting experience because it allowed me to get some hands on experience in events production. It was a busy week in D.C. as not only the premier of Ontario but also four other Canadian premiers met with Canada's deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland and U.S. officials to discuss trade.
This blog would be totally incomplete if I forgot to mention that over the weekend I visited the Library of Congress and got a reader card so that I can study there whenever I like. My university back home has some pretty incredible libraries but I have to say nothing can beat the architecture of the Library of Congress – completely breathtaking.
Until next time!
Aidan, an intern abroad
February 4, 2020
From time to time, opportunities will meet you when you least expect them. Last year I never could have imagined that come January I would have moved to Washington D.C. and started an internship at the Canadian Embassy. I’ve always dreamed of what a career in the foreign service would be like. I wanted to learn more because it is a career that would allow me to combine my love of travelling and of making the world a better place for others. What I found however, is that learning about diplomacy is a lot harder than understanding what it would be like to be a doctor or an accountant. Getting to see how embassies run from the inside of Canada’s main diplomatic mission to the United States is truly an opportunity of a lifetime to explore my career goals.
When I arrived in D.C. the temperatures were abnormally high, reaching over 20 degrees Celsius and making us forget that it’s winter. This is the first time that I’ve ever lived away from home and that too has a lot to teach me; though my roommates would disagree, I personally think I’m becoming an expert chef. I’m living in a lovely house with five others, four of them are also interns at the Canadian Embassy. In the morning we walk about 30 minutes to the embassy and it’s nice to have them to compare notes with in the evenings.
The first week involved all of your usual introductory information including a tour of the embassy, an overview of the computer system and security briefings. My favourite part of the week was meeting everyone in my section and getting to talk with them about their files. After completing my undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, one of the pathways I am considering is law school. Because of my interest in law as well as my passion for environmental issues, I have found the many hours spent discussing U.S. and Canadian environmental issues, laws and agencies to be very informative and enjoyable. I am interning for the Environment and Energy Sector which deals with issues that involve Canada and the United States. Some of the issues I will get to explore include: Carbon capture utilization and storage, fisheries, transboundary mining, waste, transboundary water issues (great lakes, sewage, invasive species), wildlife, renewable energy and climate change just to name a few.
My day typically starts out with browsing through the events happening in D.C. and sending out a calendar to my team. D.C. hosts a multitude of think tanks, hearings and other events. By attending these events and often writing reports on them I will get to learn about a variety of fascinating topics in the world of environment and energy.
This is just the beginning of what I already know will be an incredible four months of learning and exploring and I look forward to keeping you updated about life in D.C. through frequent blog posts. Thank you for following along on this journey!