Knauss Fellowship Placement Week

I arrived in Washington D.C. with a suit, my first, and with a realization that I was no longer in Alaska. My first impressions of D.C. were formed on the Metro that conveniently meets one at the airport and transports one throughout the city. I became very comfortable exploring the city on this clean mode of transportation.

The pace of this week was rapid, no village time in D.C. My first stop on placement week was the hotel on Capitol Hill, where all the Knauss Fellows regrouped from travel prior to venturing out to our orientation dinner. The first full day consisted of host presentations. Although these presentations were only ten minutes each they continued for nine exhausting hours. The long day continued with drinks at a local pub. This was going to be the routine for placement week, an exhausting day with prospective hosts and an evening of drinking with the hosts and their current fellows.

At the bars, the competition amongst hosts and current fellows for our time and attention was extreme. On one such evening outing, I realized how unique a Knauss Fellowship is in this world. There were twice as many hosts and positions than there were fellows. Never before have I been guaranteed both a week of interviews and a job. Bar mingling was key to the placement week process. These casual meetings unlocked the door to many new friendships.

I was overwhelmed with the opportunities. One-on-one interviews took place in the greater D.C. area: Capitol Hill, Bethesda, and Silver Spring. Hosts included the DOT (Marine Transport), FEMA, NASA, NOAA, NSF, State Department, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In two and a half days I had 18 interviews. The half-hour interviews were formal affairs, followed up by evening mingling at local bars. In the end, it was tough to decide on my three or four top choices. To be frank, I would have been happy with any one of these placements.

The selection process culminated with hosts submitting their rankings of fellows. High emotions amongst fellows and bit of horse-trading would highlight this morning. I chose to work with the NOAA, NMFS, Sustainable Fisheries, Domestic Fisheries Division, and Fisheries Management Program. I will be working with the implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Reauthorization. I will take part in publications and congressional hearings, and I will be able to interact with the regional management councils.

Placement week went by extremely fast, certainly not enough time to absorb all that washed over me. The upcoming year will surely continue to be an eye opener. I am excited to begin and will write more soon.