Day 2

What a busy second day we have had here as HOSA-OSG Interns! As we first arrived to the office, we met with the professionals who would be helping us with our individual projects, helping us gain some more perspective on what exactly we are all doing. Following those meetings we had the opportunity to attend a “morning huddle”, where we were briefed on all of the different assignments that CAPT Tosatto, CAPT Reed, LCDR Payne, CDR Denis, and ENS Draude are currently working on. The next item on the agenda was my personal favorite of the day, getting to meet and chat with (retired) Rear Admiral Ken Moritsugu, a former Acting Surgeon General. (Fun fact: He is the only one to serve under two different administrations! Cool, right?!) 

We had the wonderful privilege to pick his brain about public health as well as his personal background in public health. Next, our group had a quick lunch, and we were off to meet with congressmen from our home states to share the importance of HOSA- Future Health Professionals! Unfortunately, we did not get to meet everyone that we wanted to, but we definitely managed to make some strong connections! We met with Representative Brett Guthrie, from my home state of Kentucky, as well as staff members from the offices of Senators Jeff Flake (Arizona), and Tim Scott (South Carolina). We also ran into a couple former HOSA members here, small world! 

In between meetings, we were led through the Capitol for a tour that was full of history and excitement. As our tour ended, we traveled to The Monocle, a fantastic little restaurant where we were joined by CAPT Tosatto, CDR Denis, and ENS Draude for dinner. We finally decided that we needed to get out of there before we ordered any more cheesecake, and set out to tour a few monuments. First we stopped at Iwo Jima/the US Marine Corps War Memorial to watch members of the US Marine Corps perform their Silent Drill, which was truly AMAZING.  

Then we hopped in the van with CAPT Tosatto, and headed to the Albert Einstein Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. Today was definitely an extremely busy day, but it was truly an unforgettable one!