Final Defense Letter

This is a letter I had to write to my campus sponsor (Susan Wooten) as an assignment for The Washington Center. The letter is meant to:
-provide an opportunity for me to explor my overall growth and development during my semester in DC, evalute my ability to achieve goals that I set for myself, and to explain how the experiences I've had have impacted me. I thought it would give all of you an idea of my overall time here and how it has affected me.

"Dear Mrs. Wooten,

I wanted to take a moment to fill you in on some of the things I have been doing this semester. I also would like to take an opportunity to show you how I have met the goals that I set out in my Individual Development Plan (IDP), which I sent you earlier in the semester. During my time in Washington, D.C. I have had a tremendous opportunity too grow personally, educationally, and politically.

In the months that I have been living independently, I have had the chance to make my own decisions, which has made me a stronger person and helped me to decide the things that I believe in and are important to me. Living in a city has helped me to become less judgemental of the people I meet and to reinstate my belief that everyone has value and has a stroy of how they got to where they are in life-- whether it is a positive or negative postion.

In terms of my education, I have learned how important it is to ask questions, seek answers, and never be afraid to voice my opinions. The course I have taken has been a wonderful opportunity to hear the perspectives of other individuals, and to therefore form my own viewpoint. It is a class strongly grounded in debate and discussion, and although this can be frustrating at times because I tend to want to avoid confrontation and disagreements, it has forced me to stand up for my opinions and beliefs without shame.

Because of some of the work I have done at my internship and seeing the work at the other museums I have visited, I have also grown in my artistic skills. Because my weeknights have generally been free, I have also had a great deal of time to work on these skills independently. The time i have been able to spend drawing and painting has been priceless because I don't often have this amount of free time when I am at school or home. This free time has also allowed me to see a very large portion of the wonderful attractions that Washington D.C. has to offer, including museums, monuments, and various other attractions. In fact, there have only been two weekends during my internship that I have not used to sight-see or get involved in some event that allowed me to get a taste of the capitol.

Throught the program at The Washington Center, I have also grown to understand the way our country's government works, and therefore have become much firmer in my political views. In many ways, the opinions that I already held very dear before my time here have simply been strengthened. However, I now have a stronger knowledge of the issues that may be presented to me by people who question my opinions, and I can therefore defend myself more confidently.

I have learned a great deal during my time in Washington D.C. with The Washington Center, and will never forget it. I want to thank you for all of your help in my application process and becoming prepared to venture out of my comfort zone-- I couldn't have done any of this without you.

Sincerely,

Danielle Marx"