RTP
Opening Reception
29
May 07
On
the morning of Tuesday May 29th, while
many other college students were still
sleeping, the fourteen RTP interns met
bright and early to take a Smithsonian
Magazine cover-worthy group photograph.
After striking a creative pose for the
camera, the students hurried to the Office
of Protective Services, where they hoped
to beat the rush to obtain their Smithsonian
I.D. The students, in fact, arrived before
the office opened at 8:30 a.m.! Just two
hours after the process began, all RTP
interns had I.D.'s and proximity cards,
but none working whatsoever - system was
down! The students had to wait several
days for the proximity cards to be activated,
which grant them access to their respective
labs and offices.
Immediately after this first Smithsonian
initiation, clad in their new I.D.'s,
the anxious interns met their advisors
at an opening reception hosted by former
RTP intern and Curator of Ostracoda at
NMNH, Gene Hunt. The Acting Director of
the Museum of Natural History, Dr. Paul
Risser, was in attendance at the event,
and personally welcomed the RTP interns
to the Smithsonian Institution.
