The Girl's Guide
Issue 111: Your Embarrassing Intern Stories (feat. Victoria Marshall)
Happy Friday and welcome back to The Girl’s Guide! Nick and I are traveling, so it’s been a comedy of errors trying to get this newsletter out — but despite getting locked out of our cabin this morning and lacking suitable WiFi, the show must go on! If you missed the most recent issue of the newsletter, find it here.
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Your Embarrassing Internship Stories
I asked for your craziest and most embarrassing stories from your intern days, and you readers delivered! I’m hoping everyone involved has recovered from these incidents.
Prison break… “When interning in the Senate, I went on an errand to put awards for the Senator in the storage unit in the basement. It’s infamously called ‘The Cage.’ I entered the unit in the dark basement with zero cell service and out of habit closed the door behind me. Not realizing it automatically locks and there’s no handle on the inside. I was stuck there for six hours until a staffer from a different office found me and let me out. It was my fourth day. There’s now a sign on the door… because of me. I learned that you have to laugh at yourself! And that even dumb things can make you memorable to senior staff.” -Elle Kalisz
Mother knows best… “I was too genuine for my own good. I was brought on for client service and quickly ended up as the social media manager. The mother of the company president didn't know what a social media manager was (this was circa 2015?) so she was hollering that I was lazy and spent so much time on social media. I was never on my own social media, I was on corporate's. I couldn't figure out how to tell her this in a polite and classy way, so I went to Pinterest and printed out an infographic about what social media managers do and handed it to her. Not the best move because I was trying to be genuine and ended up having a ‘savage’ moment instead. But I did learn the importance of advocating for myself.” -Anonymous
Feminine emergency… “This one is definitely for the girls, but one day during my Hill internship I started my period and bled through my underwear… and my cute gingham business casual pants! The worst part was, I didn’t have any feminine products. Luckily I asked the nice (female) staff assistant in the office for a tampon, and she kindly told me I could go home to change if I needed to. As I was gathering my things to go change, one of the guy staffers came in and said ‘Does anyone smell that? It smells like B.O. in here.’ It was me. I was mortified! Moral of the story is: ladies, never leave the house without feminine products in your bag. And never be afraid to ask to go to the bathroom!” -Anonymous
Signing off… “I was interning for my local police station’s cadet program. While we were working an event, the Sergeant called me to give me instructions. As we were finishing the call, I absent-mindedly ended it with, ‘Okay, 10-4. Love you.’ And hung up. I couldn’t look at him in the eye the rest of the night.” -Anonymous
Better things to do… “I once did a summer internship, and at the end of the summer I went on a pre-planned month-long trip to see family in another city. I was supposed to return to the internship in the fall. Due to some events, I wound up staying in that other city. But I forgot to notify the internship coordinator I wouldn't be back. I only found out much later she had been miffed at my disappearance and complained to my school. Suffice it to say, I've learned to be much more professional in the years since then.” -Anonymous
Blood, sweat, and tears… “During my internship at a nonprofit I was tasked with selling 100 tickets to a charity baseball game. I drove around town all day in a car with no AC (this was an unpaid internship, of course) asking businesses to buy tickets. At the end of the day I’d sweat through my clothes. And sold zero tickets. To this day thinking about it makes me stressed!” -Elizabeth
It’s 9 o’clock somewhere… “I was an intern for Senator Rubio my junior year of college. I was leaving the office one afternoon and was super out of it as it had been a busy day, so I wasn’t really paying attention. All of a sudden, Senator Rubio came whizzing down the hall and said hi to me and I was so flustered/not expecting it that I said ‘Good morning, Senator’ to him… It was 6 p.m. As far as embarrassing intern stories go, it’s pretty mild, but it still haunts me to this day.” -Izzy Quiñones
Bearer of bad news… “I accidentally became a Crisis Comms Manager the day I forgot my blazer at home. I was locked out of the office because my key was in my blazer. It normally wouldn't have been locked on a Saturday, but it was because my boss wasn't home. Where was he, you might ask? In jail. I waited outside until my husband came back with a key since we shared a car. Then I carried on as usual, that is until his wife came downstairs and screamed at me to get out of her house as the office was on the bottom floor of their mansion. When I found out what had happened, I had to juggle escaping their house while being yelled at (no one had called me, and I was there all alone) with managing the 14 technicians under my supervision who were out at client jobs. My husband came and picked me up while I was crying in the bushes. I then had to find a way to call each technician and let them know so that they could each make the personal choice as to what to do. After that, I called all of the clients impacted. Many of us never received our last paycheck. I learned how to communicate elegantly and effectively, trust my instincts, and spot red flags in professional culture. You fix your mascara, give facts without any conjecture, make your voice as sterile sounding as possible, demonstrate concern for those affected, manage the internal and external message to not let the crisis get out of hand, and keep messaging as clear as possible while navigating and setting expectations. I also learned that telling the truth isn't the best policy when you go on your next job interview after losing your position due to your boss not making bail.” -Anonymous
Got an embarrassing intern story? Submit it anonymously via this form, and I’ll include it in a future issue.
Interview with Victoria Marshall
In today’s newsletter, I’m talking to writer Victoria Marshall about life in DC and much, much more! Make sure to give her a follow on Twitter.
What does your life look like right now?
My life right now is a balancing act between work, socializing, and church. During the day, I work as a news reporter for The Family Research Council and freelance write on the side. In the evening, I’m usually with friends. One of my favorite things to do in DC is to host or go over to a friend’s house and have dinner. On the weekends, I like to explore DC, look for a decent shot of espresso, and then sabbath on Sundays. My hobbies are fashion, ballet, and reading classic literature.
What are your favorite topics to research and write about?
I like to write about socio-political issues that affect women and the family: transgenderism, surrogacy, birth control, privacy rights, pornography, female embodiment, and feminism. I am very interested in the “reactionary feminism” of
and Erika Bachiochi. I also have a passion for writing about the truly marginalized in society (those who the left and the right equally ignore).What’s the best book you’ve read in the last year?
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. A beautiful novel about a woman looking back on her life and her reflections on living simply. I find it's a great introduction to Berry’s criticism of industrialization and the West’s capitulation to corporatism. There’s a delightful quote that I’ve been mulling over recently about what it means to be rooted where you live: “Love in this world doesn’t come out of thin air. It is not something thought up. Like ourselves, it grows out of the ground. It has a body and a place.”
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about friendship during your time in DC?
Biggest lesson about friendship in DC: your real friends will stick with you through thick and thin. Be loyal to them. Those befriending you on account of popularity or power will drop you as soon as it's socially or politically expedient. Also, people tell you who they are by what they do, not by what they say. “You shall know them by their fruits.”
Who are your style icons?
My style icons are Camille Rowe, Leandra Medine, and Courtney Grow.
Bulletin Board
IN SEARCH OF HOUSING/ROOMMATES: “Hi there! My name is Mathilde and I am interning at The American Spectator this summer. Originally from Wisconsin, I am excited to visit historical sites, hiking trails, and try out some restaurants in the DC area. I am a very tidy roommate and enjoy cozy nights in. My max budget is $800 and I am looking for a place from June 1-July 25th. Alexandria is my preferred location but I’m interested in Arlington or any other nearby area. If you are looking for a house sitter or roommate during that time, I’d love to get in touch!”
Reply to this email or email girlygirlsguidetodc@gmail.com to be connected with Mathilde.
The Haps
I’m keeping The Haps short this time — so here are some links to what I’ve been enjoying (and writing!) lately!
The Breakup Industry Is A Real Thing, And It's Making Lots Of Money: I interviewed breakup coaches and experts about this trend for Evie Magazine. If you haven’t subscribed to Evie Magazine yet, find info about a free trial here!
Beyond the False Work v. Home Dichotomy with Regina Bethencourt: A very interesting episode of Girlboss, Interrupted with
!The Definitive Guide to Deciding on Bangs:
explains what you need to know about committing to the fringe.
Ask Evie
Have a question you want me to answer in the newsletter? Click this link to send your question anonymously!
