On the evening of October 7th, after all the CSOs had landed and gotten steeled into their hotel rooms, we had a nice dinner where we were all able to talk to one another. It was really nice to be able to sit down with CSOs from other states, and even other countries! We discussed the different cultural aspects for each region, as well as the different action plans and cabinet meetings that each region has participated in in the past.

After dinner, Megan Smith, the Chief Technology Officer under the Obama Administration and CEO of Shift 7, sat down with us and talked about the different ways STEM is helping to advance our country, and even our world! She spoke about the 17 sustainable development goals that the United Nationals has set in place to be completed by 2030, and how STEM would and is being used to help complete the goals. Megan also spoke about different ways STEM is used that we may not think about often. For example, currently AI is being used to collect data on the differences between men and women in Hollywood in reference to movie rolls.

She spoke about many different things, but overall Megan Smith gave us her support as CSOs to change this country, and change this world for the better through STEM and student voice.

On Monday, we traveled to the IREX conference center and had a communication training day. We learned a few helpful tips from the Burness and Communications Training Team about telling our stories as CSOs and communicating to different types of audiences. Bethany Brookshire (left) also came in spoke with us about being a science journalist and how to speak during an interview. There was also a panel discussion from a few IREX employees that gave us some incite on what they do at IREX.

Tuesday was one of the most exciting days. We were able to travel to The Office of Science and Technology Policy. This is where they make new regulations around technology safety. One example of this is determining what new regulations need to be made to ensure that driver-less cars are safe, and things like that. We learned that there are 17 different agencies that work with STEM Education, and that a new national STEM Education plan will be put into practice soon.

On Wednesday, all the CSOs were able to go to the one of the headquarters for Google located in DC. CSO Mackenzie said, "It's so cool because you can have Google on your phone, and you can google something. But we are at Google! It's so weird to think that you are standing in a verb and a noun!" The CSOs spoke with an employee from the Political Department. After this, we went to the Natural History Museum and were able to do several hands-on activities in the Q?riosity section of the museum. Finally, we went to the Spy Museum where we met with retired special agent David Major to learn a little more about real life spy's before exploring the museum.

Thursday, Michigan's last day, was the day we met with our Senate Representatives. We met with a staff member from Senator Gary Peters office. We were able to explain what the CSO program is, what we are doing, and invite Senator Peters to our schools. After this we went to the National Science Foundation and met with the Director, France Cordova. She gave us a presentation about becoming Science Leaders. Then we had a NSF STEM Panel with several of the different program managers.