International Business-Government Counsellors Intern by Josh Grelle

by tuftsigl
Jul 19

I had never been to D.C. before coming here this summer for my internship at IBC (International Business-Government Counsellors). I now realize that it is my second favorite city in the United States, topped only by New Orleans, and only because of the food. I think part of why I love this city so much is because of my internship, it’s given me a really good exposure to a lot of different aspects of D.C. 

I certainly have learned a lot since being here. Trade, economics, and finance certainly were not my strong suit before this internship; after a month here I feel very comfortable discussing these issues both technically and theoretically. Working at a small company I have been exposed to essentially every part of what IBC does; I’m not just stuck in one bureau or department. I have been able to work on articles for the publications IBC distributes which has given me great communications experience. I get to work with our congressional liaison and often find myself at hearings on Capitol Hill. Sometimes I go to think tanks and panels that are relevant to the companies that we work for; so I have been able to learn about a broad variety of topics from North Korean nuclear weapons to maximizing partnerships in indigenous communities in the extractive sector. I have even done market research in Spanish, Chinese, and Portuguese (I didn’t even know my Spanish was good enough to allow me to read Portuguese before this internship). One of my long-term projects, is to monitor the 2016 presidential elections which I have personally really enjoyed. At this point, I could pretty much recite any of the major candidate’s viewpoints on a given number of issues. It is nice to feel like an expert at something, most of the time I am doing things that require me to ask a lot of questions. Now people come to me with questions involving the upcoming elections.

I also thoroughly appreciate the networking opportunities that this internship has afforded me. I am graduating from Tufts a semester early so at this point I’m essentially a second semester senior who is kicking it into high gear on the job search. I, fortunately, find myself in small and closed groups on a weekly basis with executives from some of the biggest companies in the world and very high-level government officials. I am especially excited for the opportunity to meet with Ambassador Pickering next week who is not only one of the most influential American diplomats of his time but has a foreign service fellowship that I have been planning to apply for since I was in high school. The fact that he just so happens to serve on the board of the Executive Council of Diplomacy, a non-profit that IBC administers is nothing short of a miracle to me. 

Overall I have had an extremely positive experience here IBC. Every day is different and the longer I’ve been here the busier I have gotten. When I mentioned it to my internship supervisor she said it was because people were pleased with the quality of my work. This, of course, made me very happy and it made me want to work even harder. The things I do are substantial and very complementary to my studies at Tufts. I have learned so much about so many different things and I will definitely be coming off this internship new applicable knowledge and skills.

Add new comment