Better late than never, right....

Its been an incredible experience so far and I'll be writing this post in past tense to pack in all that I've been fortunate enough to participate in through H&K's International Exchange. I promise the next posts won't be as long.

The H&K Washington DC office surpassed my expectations. I was greeted with flowers on my first day- thank you Lihui!!! 

H&Kers have been warm and welcoming through out my time here. Each and every person I've met is a great example of the global H&K standard. The team is diverse, curious, and well traveled. One of the first people I met had just returned from her exchange with the H&K Brussels office and, imagine this, had once visited Kuwait for 3 weeks for an undergrad project.

I've been assigned to the Public Affairs (PA) and Corporate Social Responsability practices at H&K DC. The team leads have been kind enough to keep my scheduale packed while here.

I attended a Congressional Hearing on Capitol Hill about Sovereign Wealth Funds on my third day here. I've never witnessed government in action so this was definitetly an eye opening experience. The hearing also gave a first hand understanding of the issues and concerns shared by US constituents regarding foreign ownership of American companies. You can read more about it here- http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/testimony/alvarez20080305a.htm

The next day, Douglas Smith, a senior advisor for US public affairs at H&K, invited me to sit in on a phone call with Hillary Clinton. Can you believe that???

The next morning, bright and early, I attended a National Urban League (NUL) breakfast. Again, this was another opportunity to witness the spinning of the wheels of politics. The NUL is America's oldest and largest community- based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream. The H&K DC and H&K New York offices work together on the NUL's media relations and communications.

So, although I am constantly freezing, I am continuously inspired by the people around me at H&K DC!!!

Let me know if you have any questions....