2026-09-04: My Summer Internship with the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC PAC)

 

As a scholar at the Department of War Cyber Service Academy (DoW CSA), I was selected to participate in the inaugural 2026 VICEROY Vector cohort located at the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC PAC), a summer internship with NIWC PAC at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California. My summer internship was organized by Griffiss Institute, the premier STEM talent and technology accelerator for the United States Department of War. It is a nonprofit organization that aims to develop the next generation of STEM talent and defense technologies that will strengthen U.S. national security and create economic opportunity for our nation. Griffiss Institute offers a ton of programs, internships, camps, and other opportunities/events to accelerate talents from a wide range of education stages (2nd grade school students and all the way to postdoc scholars). 

Prior to participating in the internship, multiple internship coordinators from Griffiss Institute and NIWC PAC reach out to interns a month or more before the internship and schedule orientation and training sessions to make sure students are aware of the details about the internship and how to prepare for this ten-week internship. They will tell students their housing details, work location, and agenda. They will invite interns to attend multiple mandatory virtual meetings with members of the Griffis Institute and NIWC PAC to give interns instructions on how to fill out different forms related to their internship and security clearance applications. Internship coordinators also set up multiple Discord servers and channels so students can ask questions, share tips, and possibly arrange daily carpooling from the housing to the base ahead of time. If you participate in this internship, you will be smothered the last two weeks before the internship, especially if you are not local to San Diego, because on top of packing and flight/transportation reservation, you will be required to attend multiple meetings and read all emails and the Discord chat to get the most up-to-date information about the internship logistics. Every few interns have an assigned mentor, a NIWC employee that usually leads one or more teams at NIWC. Mentors are dedicated to their students' success during the internship and act as their supervisors. Mentors reach out to interns before the internship begins and give them a general idea of what they will, likely, be working on during the internship and which lab/office they will be working at.

The trip to San Diego, California

Flying from Norfolk, VA to San Diego, CA was pleasant. I enjoyed the flight since I haven’t flown since 2020. I wanted to drive, but that 40+ hour drive would require me to leave four days before the internship starts, and on top of my daughter’s surgery scheduled two days before the internship, I didn’t want to risk being late if I got a flat tire or had some car trouble on the way. I was nervous about being able to go from the housing to the base without a car, and it has been too long since I used public transportation, and I was not sure how dependable it is in San Diego. Luckily carpooling is working great so far, and I am able to be on base on time with no hassle. It takes about 45 minutes to drive from the housing to Naval Base Point Loma, depending on traffic. Public transportation takes about one and a half hours.

The first day

The first day of the internship starts early. The earlier you can be at the badging office, the better because there will be a very long line of interns trying to get their badges and CAC/DBIDS cards to access different buildings and offices on base. The office already has all the interns' information. All interns are required to bring two forms of identification to get processed. Each intern receives a packet that has their schedule and agenda throughout the internship. After that, all interns head to a huge classroom on base where they are required to attend orientation, onboarding, and security training sessions that last the entire day. I was exhausted the first day, but that’s normal.

Work

Depending on the mentor, interns might have the option to choose between different projects or work on multiple projects simultaneously. The good thing about this internship is that all projects at NIWC PAC use cutting-edge tools and technologies to support US warfighters. Projects at NIWC PAC cover a wide range of disciplines, including cybersecurity, computer science, computer engineering, data science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, communication engineering, robotics, applied mathematics, physics, chemistry, oceanography, and others. It leads the Navy through the challenges of harnessing the power of information technologies to prevail across a spectrum of conflicts in the 21st-century battlefield. Mentors pick their interns prior to the internship based on their major, resume, and experience. Projects utilize modern tools and technologies, including computer vision, artificial intelligence, large language models, machine learning, natural language processing, and others. Interns develop skills that are hard to obtain working regular jobs. Skills like agility, innovation, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving while working with high-performing teams at NIWC PAC. 

Interns learn to be in the mind of the warfighter (to know the threats they face and the mission) in order to anticipate technologies and deliver capable systems that are easy to use and easy to maintain. They learn to deliver systems engineered to survive and win. On top, interns go through a lot of special training sessions that strengthen their writing, presentation, and persuasion skills. They learn to focus on what matters most and be effective and impactful team players. The culture of unity at NIWC PAC is absolutely unique; everyone is striving to achieve the same goal, developing systems that empower leaders and warfighters making a difference every day. The internship is also a great opportunity for networking and making connections. Interns attend multiple weekly meetings/gatherings with NIWC employees, Navy personnel, and representatives from other DoW agencies and discuss potential future collaboration, employment, and internships. The main goal of the internship is to discover different projects that NIWC PAC is working on, get to see their labs, and get exposed to their special work in order to source potential candidates for future employment (with NIWC PAC or other agencies). 

The NIWC PAC work schedule is 9/80 (9 working days every two weeks, adding up to 80 hours total). Interns get every other Friday off along with all other holidays on which NIWC PAC employees are off. Interns get one day of paid time off (PTO), but it must be requested ahead of time unless it is taken because of sickness. Depending on the team the intern is placed in, work can start as early as 7:00 AM and can end as late as 5:00 PM. There are mandatory events that take place during working hours. Interns are expected to attend these events. Interns might be invited to participate in voluntary events, but they usually require mentors’ approval prior to participating. There are weekly timesheets and work reports that have to be filled out by interns prior to the end of the week. Griffiss Institute coordinators maintain weekly office hours to answer interns' questions. Attending office hours is optional, and the coordinator is reachable by phone, text, Discord, and email. NIWC PAC internship coordinators are also available to answer all questions and concerns in-person or by phone, text, Discord, and email.

This internship is a great opportunity for me. I am thankful I was selected to participate in it and am happy that I did. I got a chance to try military gear on and one of the navy officers, who has a media clearance/pass, offered to take a picture of me to send to my family. The photo was taken at one of the many internship events organized by NIWC PAC and included navy officers/personnel sharing their stories and telling interns about their experience working with NIWC PAC. I removed the background from the photo since it was taken on base and there were a lot of interns, mentors, NIWC PAC employees, and navy personnel in the background.

As you can see from the picture, which was also discussed prior to coming to participate in the internship, the dress code is relaxed business casual. Tops can be button-up or polo shirts. Bottoms can be tailored trousers, slacks, chinos, and knee-length skirts. Jeans without rips or fading are acceptable. Tennis shoes and sneakers are acceptable footwear. We were told not to wear anything revealing or that might be perceived as unprofessional attire, such as T-shirts, shorts, open-toe shoes, and flip-flops.

Housing

Griffiss Institute took care of all logistics and payments throughout the internship. VICEROY Vector/CSA interns, such as myself, along with some other interns, were offered free housing in a dorm apartment building on Hardy Avenue at the San Diego State University (SDSU) campus, a free parking pass for each intern, and a meal plan card that gets loaded with $224 every Monday and can be used in all restaurants near SDSU that take the SDSU students’ meal plan cards. The housing features all essential needs (one kitchen, two bathrooms, and four bedrooms per apartment). Some bedrooms have a single twin bed, and others have double bunk beds. There are six students per apartment, on average, which means four students out of six have to share their bedroom with another student. Each apartment has a washer and dryer, but there is a weekly sheets, blankets, and linens exchange. It is easier to just use the washer and dryer in the apartment because the exchange window is only two hours on Fridays between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM. There is no TV in the apartment, but interns have access to the free SDSU campus wifi guest network. If you plan on cooking, bring pans, pots, kitchen utensils, and small appliances (coffee maker, air fryer, broom/small vacuum, etc.) because the apartment’s kitchen only has a microwave, range oven/stove, fridge, sink, and dishwasher. We use paper plates, bowls, and cups. Interns are expected to bring their own dish and laundry detergent and cleaning supplies.

Food

Unfortunately, not all eateries that take the meal card are open in the summer, and some of them are not open by the time interns get off work (around 5:00 PM) because they have short summer hours. Most restaurants that take the meal plan card and open in the summer are located on College Avenue. The meal card can also be used at any Aztec Market convenience store location (if they are open). There is also a Trader Joe's on College Avenue that is within walking distance from the housing. Overall, the food is terrible, and prices are outrageous. I tried all of them and found Eureka to be the best as far as food quality and service, but it is also the most expensive among them. Broken Yolk is another good place to eat, but they are only open until 2:00 PM, so I make sure I go there on the weekend before they close. Fortunately, the meal plan of $32/day is enough for some inexpensive items on the menus (usually high carbs and calories but a little less expensive in price). I found the food at every other restaurant that takes the meal card and opens in the summer to be awful, so I cook or go out to eat somewhere else three days a week and save the meal card money to use it at Eureka or Broken Yolk for the remaining three to four days in the week. I am able to get food that is somewhat healthy, tastes good, and is enough for each day I use the meal card.

So far, I have tried multiple restaurants in San Diego, including Rodizio Grill Brazilian Steakhouse, Khyber Pass Zarparan (Afghan/Persian Restaurant), Manna Heaven BBQ Downtown (Korean), and Asado Gaucho Argentinian Meat Dining Experience at Liberty Station. All of them are absolutely phenomenal. On the other hand, I went to Ocean Beach (OB) with other interns, and we got food from a small poke place called It's Raw Poke Shop. The food was horrible; that food has got to be the worst food I’ve ever had in my entire life. Since I can’t stomach raw fish, I ordered a chicken bowl. The chicken was rancid, cold, and soggy. The rice had a raw fish odor, tasted like raw fish, and was just repulsive, but I powered through it (not from hunger but to punish myself and remember not to order chicken from a poke place or even go to a poke place to begin with unless I need to punish myself again). The fact that the shop was packed full of people waiting in line (all the way to the curb and on the curb) to order food and that it has a 4.7-star rating based on 1.2k reviews on Yelp is beyond me. One unique thing about eating out in San Diego is that the city has so many restaurants from all kinds of kitchen cousins around the world, so if you crave it, someone in San Diego sells it.

Weather

It goes without saying that San Diego is probably the most desirable place to live in the world due to its Mediterranean climate and mild weather all year round. Throughout the time of the internship (June, July, and the first week of August), mornings often begin with a blanket of coastal marine clouds. These low clouds typically burn off by midday, revealing clear blue skies and abundant sunshine. Daytime temperatures range from the mid-70s to low-80s, and the humidity is very low. The city's proximity to the Pacific Ocean makes summer temperatures moderate and creates refreshing sea breezes. Even on warmer days, the ocean provides a welcome sense of comfort through its cool air during the day and at night. It hasn’t rained since I came on May 30th, and I don’t think it will rain before I go back to Virginia because rainfall is extremely rare in the summer in San Diego. Weather is the best thing I like about San Diego since I live in VA and am tired of the blazing heat in the summer, high humidity, and somewhat cold winters. Unless I am back to working full time before next summer, I am going to apply for this internship again next year.

Hussam Hallak