It’s a city of monuments and monumental egos. It’s a city full of museums and landmark reminders of the history of decades past while its inhabitants constantly write and rewrite history’s future. This is a city full of beautiful gardens, open plazas and impressive architecture, old and new, all focused on one purpose: politics. It’s also a city that buzzes with energy and overflows with mankind’s most addictive drug: power. This city is Washington, D.C., the capital of the U.S. and home to one of NYU’s newest global network sites.

Everywhere you look in Washington, D.C., reminders of the city’s central purpose and tremendous power jump out. A casual afternoon stroll along the city’s National Mall, one of DC’s most famous attractions, reveals sights of power and history ranging from the Lincoln Memorial where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once proclaimed, “I have a dream,” to the glimmering white pinnacle called the Washington Monument, to the Capitol Building itself, home to the America’s House of Representatives and Senate. Washington offers a variety of free museums that are among the world’s best, including the various Smithsonian museums that offer art, natural history and science, and even air and space treasures like NASA’s Space Shuttle Discovery.

The District, as the city is colloquially known, is home to young, ambitious and passionate individuals from all over the world. Many are college students or recent college graduates holding internships and jobs in some of the most powerful government and corporate offices in the world, eager to climb to the top of the career ladder and hold positions of power themselves.

The city offers internships in a variety of positions and organizations ranging from opportunities to work in the U.S. House of Representatives or Senate, collaborating with leading scientists at the World Wildlife Fund, or working for America’s most influential lobbyists and lawyers to advance important pieces of legislation.

As said by NYU’s Assistant Director for External Relations and Special Programs, Tom McIntyre, “Internship placements vary greatly because of the diversity of interests that make a home in our nation's capital … We have had students in the offices of Leader Pelosi, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer and NYU Law alum Diana DeGette from Denver, among other Members and committees. Think tanks like the Raben Group and Center for American Progress are also popular, especially to students interested in policy. Some students who are more interested in international relations have interned at the Embassy of Qatar or the State Department.”

The D.C. community is dependent on networking; the person you share a metro ride with may very well be a ranking member of the U.S. Senate. As a result, the people of Washington tend to be very friendly, social and always out enjoying the variety of nightlife, ranging from jazz lounges to dance clubs, the city offers. The saying, "It’s not what you know, but who you know,” often comes into play in the District. People frequently secure jobs and internships through their network of friends and professional contacts in various businesses, organizations and government agencies.

“This city is all about connectivity and networks, and for anyone looking to work in government, you have to 'pay your dues.' Unlike other intern experiences at GNU sites, internship coordinators at many placements are smart, young, often recent graduates that carry a lot of influence,” McIntyre said.

Student life at NYU’s newest global site is fast-paced and exciting. The facilities are brand new and spacious, although they do lack some of the conveniences of Sama Tower like a state-of-the-art gym, cafeteria and free laundry services.

Accommodations range from single occupancy apartments to two bedroom suites shared by two, three or four people. All of the apartments include a full bathroom and modern kitchen.

NYU Washington, D.C.’s program manager, Candice Clawson, helps to facilitate student activities that help build a sense of community.

“We do neighborhood tours, a scavenger hunt around D.C., and provide staff-suggested local favorites for students to explore,” she said. “We also do a community service project so students can learn about those in D.C. that need their help in the hopes service will continue. Through excursions to cultural establishments, local performances, museums, celebrations, and festivals students have the opportunity to be exposed to literally every facet of Washington, D.C. if they choose to engage.”

NYUAD students studying abroad at the other global network sites have often commented that the academics offered at the sites are not up to the same standard as Washington Square or Abu Dhabi.

“As a new and relatively small site, NYU Washington, D.C. has clearer oversight on its courses. In this respect, the academic rigor is able to uphold the standards dictated by NYUNY,” said Lauren Sinclair, Academic Affairs Program Manager.

Many of the professors at the Washington, D.C. site are leaders in their field and maintain a dynamic, engaging environment in their classrooms. Among these is Tad Devine, who teaches a political science class called, “Campaign Strategies,” and has managed the political advertising for American politicians like John Kerry and Al Gore, as well as international politicians like Ehud Barak of Israel and Bernie Ahern of Ireland.

Professor Seth Borenstein, who teaches a journalism class on spin and media truthfulness, is an experienced science writer from the Associated Press who has a long established career in journalism and has hosted guest lecturers including John Stanton, the D.C. bureau chief of Buzzfeed.

The classes at NYU Washington, D.C. campus will only be expanding as the site continues to grow. As an academic program manager, Sinclair has already seen students from nearly all of the NYUNY colleges as well as students from Abu Dhabi. She believes that as a city, Washington, D.C. offers the opportunity for the site to expand into many other areas of academic study currently under development or not yet offered.

“The potential for environmental studies policy courses is huge, as well as reporting and journalism,” she said. "I think the Media, Culture, and Communications and International Education programs in Steinhardt would be well-represented in D.C., as well as the Wagner programs in Public Policy and the forthcoming major in Global Public Health. For History majors, advanced research methods, particularly in archival methods would be a rich course. Any courses in Public Economics and Finance are strongly supported by the resources in D.C.”

For NYUAD students, living, working and studying at NYU’s newest global network site has been exhausting but also very rewarding. The sense of community created by the student body and the program managers is strong and vibrant. NYUAD students who choose to come to the D.C. site can expect to feel engaged and welcomed by the other Washington Square students and should expect to work hard and play hard. Washington, D.C., as a bastion of power and influence, offers tremendous opportunities for students to gain real-world experience that will advance their career aspirations.

The city, however, is not all about working and climbing the career ladder. It offers a vibrant culture of museums, jazz clubs, excellent dining experiences and historical experiences that cannot be found elsewhere.