Washington, D.C. reception

I awoke on the third day of my Marshall experience at 6am ready to leave for the NIH.  British guide in D.C. told us to dress for “smart-business,” which we all assumed meant no tie or jacket, but nice pants and a nice shirt. We were very wrong, and many of the Marshalls had to run upstairs, including myself, and quickly change into a full suit. At NIH we were told about their research facilities and partnerships with Cambridge or Oxford, including an 8-year PhD and MD program. Since I have already decided to attend medical school, and plan for at least 6 more years in school, I wasn’t too interested in adding two more years.

After the NIH we moved on to the State Department, where we were given a talk by Marshall Scholar Alum William Burns, the Deputy Secretary of State. He had great insight into many international issues and fielded several questions from the Marshall group. No cameras or cell phones were allowed into the state department, a theme for the majority of the day.

For lunch we ate at the senate office buildings, having many D.C. Marshall Alumni come by to chat with us about opportunities in politics for Marshalls. After lunch, we went to the Supreme Court, where we waited to have a lecture in the main court and then were brought to a smaller room to hear from Jeffrey Rosen, another Marshall Scholar Alumni.

Lobby of Supreme Court

After the Supreme Court tour, we walked around the capital building to our bus, bringing us back to the hotel to prepare quickly for the evenings reception at the British Embassy. At the embassy, we met Sir Nigel Sheinwald, British Ambassador to the United States, and each of us got a photo with the ambassador as well as a group photo at his residence. The reception was great, with many past Marshalls, including some from Johns Hopkins that helped me make my medical school decision. The speaker for the evening was Harold Koh, a former Marshall Scholar that gave us a great, hilarious speech about the 5 mistakes he made as a Marshall Scholar.

Capital at a distance

At the end of the reception, we boarded our bus and went back to the hotel before going out for food as a group to a restaurant across the street, and then later to a British pub around the corner of the hotel. This was the last full day in D.C., as the next day we were all excited to have a relaxed morning at the British embassy and travel to London in the afternoon.