2014 Machon Kaplan interns. Preston Hollow native Megan Sims stands in the third row, second from the right. Photo via Facebook

2015 Machon Kaplan interns. Preston Hollow native Megan Sims – third row, second from right. Photo via Facebook

What were you doing the summer before your sophomore year of college? Lounging on a beach? Sleeping in? Slurping an Icee? Don’t feel inferior, but Preston Hollow native Megan Sims is spending her vacation learning about social justice.

The Harvard University undergrad attends the Machon Kaplan program in Washington D.C., which places students in various internships around the city. Sims works with the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), where she hopes to learn about advocacy and hone her writing skills.

During the program, Sims will also take academic courses that focus on the application of Jewish values to critical social justice issues like LGBT equality and church-state separation.

It’s a ton of work, to be sure, but Machon Kaplan encourages interns to make friends and explore D.C. So far, Sims is having a great time.

“I get to work alongside some excellent, intelligent people, not only at my job, but with the other interns,” she says. “Machon Kaplan has introduced me to such a range of people, and that has really shaped my experience in Washington.”