I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. The last few months have been a pretty busy time for me as I’ve gained a lot of valuable experience while recovering from shoulder surgery in January.
Federal Reserve
This past Spring Term, I was fortunate enough to be accepted into W&L’s Washington Term Politics Program. The program brought 16 Generals to Washington DC for six weeks. During the six weeks, Wash Term students complete an internship, an advanced politics class and a lecture series. My major is Journalism and Mass Communications, so I was excited to lock down a Public Policy Communications Intern position at Global Automakers, a trade association/lobby group on K Street. Global Automakers represents the interests of some of the world’s biggest auto manufacturers, including Hyundai, Toyota, Maserati and Nissan. During my time at GA, I got to attend and report on Congressional hearings, research state and federal policy initiatives and work alongside the Communications Team in the creation of a new website.
Meanwhile, I was able to check out some really interesting places through the lecture series, including the Federal Reserve, the Pentagon, a DC Circuit Court and the set of CBS News. During the course, which focused primarily on the state of the 2016 presidential election, we actually convinced our professor to let our class create and perform a 45-minute musical instead of writing a 17-page term paper, so we ended up turning our final paper into a fun performance. I had never been to DC before this program, and it definitely exceeded my expectations in its rich history and culture. On the wrestling front, I was still limited in my practice ability, but I got to work out with the University of Maryland wrestling team a few times during the term as they prepared for University Freestyle Nationals. All in all, I can’t complain about the experience I had in DC and I can’t wait to visit again soon.
When the program finished, I moved back to Long Island, NY for what has been an awesome summer at home. I am now interning in the Legal Bureau of the Nassau County Police Department. I get to work with the attorneys for my hometown police department every day as they provide litigation support to the District Attorney. I have aspirations to go to law school, so it was important for me to gain familiarity with some of the common terminology involved with practicing law.
Legal Bureau of the Nassau County Police Department
Also, my office is a short walk from the press conference room, which is used when a big criminal is caught. Since I’m so close to the action, whenever there is a big arrest, I’m one of the first to know and I can go watch the conference. Just last week, the biggest counterfeit clothing manufacturer in American history was caught in my area, so I got to go to the conference and see all the clothing that was illegally produced before the public had any access. That’s just one of a number of meaningful experiences I’ve had in the bureau, and I know the rest of the summer will be just as exciting.
The Fourth of July marked 7 months since my surgery, so I’ve devoted a big portion of my summer to getting back to training and also continuing coaching. Last summer I volunteered at Beat The Streets NYC, the biggest wrestling club in the five boroughs. I worked with a number of BTS wrestlers every day in practice and coached them at tournaments. This summer, BTS asked me to come back as a part-time paid assistant for the summer, and I’m looking forward to working with the kids and sharing my passion for the sport. For my training, I started back up with my private coach and I’ve gotten together with a few other college heavyweights a few times a week to get workouts in so I can continue to get better and gear up for a strong comeback junior season. 
Overall, all is good here on Long Island. I’m looking forward to coming back to Lexington for camp August 5-7 and eventually getting back for the new school year! Thanks guys.
-Matt Kaminer
