Washington Ireland Program
Tuesday 10 August 2007

Roisin Doherty

DCU students, Roisin Doherty, from Co. Donegal who has just completed her degree in Accounting and Finance and Richard Hoban from Co. Mayo, who is entering his third year of Educational Science, have been making their mark in Washington DC this summer. Roisin is carrying out an internship at Washington based Management Concepts and Richard is interning at the Lombardi Cancer Research Center as part of the 2005 Washington-Ireland Program.

Now nearing the end of the eight week Program, they have found their Washington experience to date to be both challenging and exciting. "From leadership seminars to pool parties, from volunteer work to nights out on the town, from the Congressional Forum to the Irish Gala and from baseball games to debates - It's been a rollercoaster of a summer!"

Richard adds that the program has been `an opportunity to mix with a very diverse group of young people from all sectors of Irish society. Interning at the Lombardi Cancer Center was also a new experience and allowed me to acquire an in-depth knowledge of breast cancer in particular.'

The list of events squeezed in to the first four weeks is impressive. Most notably, a Luncheon at the Northern Ireland Bureau, participation at the Catholic Businessman's Breakfast and the hosting of a Congressional Forum. As part of their leadership training, each of the students is given the opportunity to speak at events such as these.

Richard was delighted to be chosen to make at speech at The Northern Ireland Bureau. This event aims to reflect the present day situation in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland via the medium of students delivering a speech which they feel is relevant to their lives. After much deliberation Richard decided to speak about his special connection to the White House, namely the fact that a Hoban designed it. Commenting on this he said `the story I told about the White House in a relatively light-hearted manner allowed me to digress from this humorous note to the essence of the Washington-Ireland program - developing connections between students in Northern Ireland and those from the south in order to meet the future challenges of peace and prosperity on the Island of Ireland'

Roisin's leadership moment will be taking place at The Irish Embassy. She is currently preparing a speech to present at the event. "I am looking forward to speaking at the Embassy, along with four other members of the team. It is our last formal event so it's our chance to sum up our summer experience, outline the highlights and the challenges we have faced and to talk about the lessons we have learned from our time here."

The Washington Ireland Program focuses on service as well as leadership, so during their time in DC the students have also been focusing on this worthwhile aspect. They have carried out voluntary work at DC based elementary school, J.O. Wilson, volunteered in assisting with the arrival of Northern Irish kids from Project Children, and are scheduled to participate in a Habitat for Humanity build.

Roisin and Richard are certainly experiencing the `all American' way of life, from living with American host families, working in American organizations, to celebrating the 4th July at the Abraham Lincoln memorial.

This is in keeping with what the D.C. based Program Director, Paul Costello, has in mind for the outcome of the initiative; "The Washington Ireland Program is an excellent opportunity for each student who gains a place, but it is important that each graduate of the program will not only further themselves, but as result also better their home country and community."

You can follow Roisin and Richard's progress through their online web journals at: www.wiprogram.com.