Last month, the Capstone National Partners DC office said goodbye and good luck to Chris Donkin, Government Affairs intern extraordinaire.
Chris is in the Homeland Security Studies Graduate Program at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and joined the Capstone DC team for the summer of 2013. He was awarded the Washington Intern Summer Housing Program’s Summer Highlight award for his efforts these past few months in Washington. WISH houses interns working for the U.S. Congress, the Supreme Court, the White House and all Federal Agencies, as well as the Smithsonian Museums, the Pentagon, newspapers and media networks, law and lobbying firms, embassies, associations, non-profit organizations, university programs and more.
“Chris was one of the best interns that Capstone has ever had,” said Erik Oksala, a partner in the DC office, “He brought real energy to all the projects he was involved in, from coordination of Congressional meetings for our clients to project research to attending and summarizing Congressional hearings.”
While with Capstone, Chris worked with various clients on a diverse range of topics including education reform, military base realignment, cancer research, and post-traumatic stress therapy.
For Chris, his most interesting projects were assisting with setting up several key meetings with both House/Senate Armed Services members on behalf of some clients to discuss the Navy’s F-35 West Coast home basing and railgun project. “My interests really are defense/national security issues, so it was really awesome to have a hand in these meetings dealing with future military decisions and projects. Joining Capstone Partner Steve Moffitt and sitting in on a few of these meetings and observing him interact with the defense staffers on the Hill was a great experience.”
Another interesting opportunity was to assist Partners Erik Oksala and Alan MacLeod in the set-up and demonstration of the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technology’s “Bravemind” PTSD virtual reality therapy simulator for several members of Congress.
The Capstone team was glad to have had Chris in the office and wishes him all the best on his career in Homeland Security.
So what did Chris learn from his experiences? “I learned it is best to stay humble and let your work speak for you. It’s easy to get consumed with your work, but taking time for yourself to have fun and relax your mind is always important. Keep an open mind and be adventurous, don’t be afraid to try new things – the nation’s Capital is the ideal place to explore new foods, sights and activities.”
Check Chris out on LinkedIn.
