Student housing in D.C.

The Adventure Begins

Written by Aubrey Neal

This semester will be an adventure. After waking up at 2 AM to catch a flight out of Idaho, my home state, and landing at Reagan International seven hours and two bags of peanuts later, my Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program experience has finally begun!

D.C. is a completely new and unfamiliar environment for me, a self-described Northern Idaho farm girl. And, over the following weeks, I’m sure it will become significantly clearer that I’m not in Hillsdale anymore. After hopping off my plane from Denver, on which only half of the passengers spoke English, it was a relief to see the familiar face of my best friend, a fellow WHIP student from Hillsdale, and my roommate for the next three months. Instantly it became clear to me that that this semester will be a unique adventure: an exciting journey full of new, interesting, and often intimidating experiences that are completely accomplishable with Hillsdale students by my side and my pocket Constitution close at hand.

This upcoming week is filled with orientation days, the daunting first day of our internships, and all the troubles of fitting the clothes of two girls into one closet. But, as they say in Hillsdale, “Virtus tentamine gaudet” – strength rejoices in the challenge.


Aubrey Neal is a junior at Hillsdale College, majoring in Political Economy. She is currently a participant in the Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program, interning at FreedomWorks in their public policy department. Originally from the mountains of Northern Idaho, Aubrey is excited to share her numerous new experiences and opportunities that the capitol is opening up to her with Hillsdale and its supporters.