When my six-week course began on May 18, the word “accelerated” sounded slightly ominous. By Wednesday, it sounded efficient. The reading was substantial and the deadlines were close enough to demand attention, but the course had a clear shape: one subject, one faculty member, one group of classmates, and six weeks in which to move from introduction to mastery.
I am a visiting graduate student in Washington for a summer internship, and I did not want to put my degree completely on hold while I was in the city. Catholic University’s Summer Sessions made it possible to combine both goals. My workday gives me professional experience; my course gives me the intellectual framework to understand that experience more deeply. Each makes the other more useful.
The pace requires a routine. I read before work, participate in class later in the day, and reserve part of Saturday for writing. Mullen Library has become my reliable place for serious concentration, while Garvey Hall is useful when the “quick coffee” I planned becomes an actual meal. The quieter summer campus helps too. There is less noise around the edges of the day, which makes it easier to notice the conversations that matter, whether with a professor, a classmate, or the person at the next library table who is also trying to finish a chapter before closing time.
This week also reminded me that Washington’s history is never far away. On May 23, Rock Creek Park held a Memorial Day program at Battleground National Cemetery, commemorating Civil War service and sacrifice. A national cemetery is not a conventional classroom, but standing in one changes the way words such as duty, memory, and public service are heard. The city has a way of placing academic ideas beside the human lives that give them weight.
Six weeks is short enough to feel urgent and long enough to produce real growth. I am already more disciplined about my time, more attentive in class, and more aware of the opportunities that come from studying in Washington. Summer Session is not simply helping me “fit in” another course. It is helping me bring my academic and professional goals into the same conversation.