A semester in DC with few friends, colleagues, or contacts can be a daunting prospect. But it’s safe to say Daniel Merritt left the capital with all of the above, thanks to an action-packed semester at the Kogod School of Business.
“I came into DC with zero network,” he acknowledged. “But I had ideas. I had goals.”
A rising junior undergraduate student at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, Merritt found a like-minded community at the Kogod School of Business: one that shared his interest in exploring the intersection of business and sustainability.
Merritt came to DC this past winter as part of the Washington Semester program. A 75-year staple of AU, the program boasts a gold-standard combination of DC internships, seminars, networking, and coursework on the AU campus.
Merritt interned at Creative Investment Research, a for-profit firm focused on public policy and holding private firms accountable to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles as part of his semester in Washington.
In addition to his coursework at AU, Merritt found a wealth of opportunities to collaborate with students and award-winning faculty members. He also embarked on research that may someday help major corporations operate more sustainably and profitably.
