Blog: The CHCI Experience

What has been the most challenging moment in your internship experience?

Being in Washington, DC has been both exciting and tedious. Getting to explore and experience the city has been a very interesting experience. However, all of this excitement has also come with challenges. Working on Capitol Hill is a very laborious and competitive experience. You are expected to create cogent and concise work quickly. This has been very challenging since your work is not only a representation of yourself, but also the member of Congress. Personally, this has been a challenge for me since I had to write a speech on behalf of the Congresswoman. Making sure that I was writing to my best of my abilities while evoking the Congresswoman’s views was both daunting and intimidating. This assignment was especially hard since I had to turn over the speech in two hours. I had to be confident in my abilities and be open to constructive criticism. In the end, I was proud of the work that I presented and learned a lot about my writing abilities. However, not everything on Capitol Hill has been challenging and demanding. Getting to attend briefings on certain subjects that interest me has been very rewarding. It has not only expanded my interests, but also reinforced my commitment to public service. It is my hope that I continue to be challenged on the hill so I can continue to learn how to be an effective policy maker.

What has been the most challenging moment in your internship experience?

My most challenging experience has been networking. The people we meet on a daily basis are constantly meeting other people, so making an impression in minutes matters. Networking is part of the lifestyle, which is something I’m still getting used to. It’s challenging because you always have to be prepared for anything wherever you are. Although I say it’s challenging, it is also a lot of fun because I never know the kind of people I am going to meet or what you’re going to have in common. With meeting all these new people, I also learn something new everyday, which is very exciting. For instance, meeting people from different organizations has educated me about different opportunities that are available in DC. It is the halfway mark of the program, and we have already experienced so much and there is still more ahead of us.

What has been the most challenging moment in your internship experience? What has been the most exciting moment in your experience?

Thus far, my internship experience on Capitol Hill has been a perpetual cycle of exhilaration, exhaustion, excitement, and anxiety. While I consider myself to be adjusted to the atmosphere of this working environment, the day-to-day fluctuations in traffic cause feelings of anticipation every morning. While traveling to and from work is not particularly challenging (unless of course, the metro system is fluctuating in reliability), the traffic in the office, with people coming in and out of meetings and the phone constantly ringing, varies daily. Because working on Capitol Hill means that influential people are deciding on issues of great importance, the feedback from constituents correlates with the issues on-hand. With all the passion, however, also comes stress. The most challenging moments at work are the times or days when the office atmosphere is hectic, however this in turn stimulates greater feelings of satisfaction at the end of the day. So far, the most exciting moment during my internship was when I successfully completed the first project I was assigned and presented it to the Chief of Staff.

Most exciting/challenging moment

The most challenging moment working at Senator Stabenow’s office was managing the requests of the different staffers. I found myself doing four projects and the deadlines only made the work more stressful. With patience and dedication I was able to finish, and at the end of the week, I was proud to receive excellent feedback from my peers. As far as the most exciting moment in my internship, I think every day is exciting on Capitol Hill, whether you attend briefings or help at the front desk, there is always something that will spark your day. Since I have to pick a moment, I will go for the hearing I attended on the Department of Energy’s budget. Present at the hearing were the Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu and Senators Murray, Dorgan, Landrieu, Alexander, Bennett and Tester. It was very interesting to be in the same room with that many influential people.

What has been the most challenging moment in your internship experience? Waht has been the most exciting moment in your internship experience?

Being able to emotionally detach from issues that are close to my heart, such as immigration reform, when I am at my office taking calls from constituents and hearing others opiniions on the subject has been one of the most challenging moments in my internship experience. The most exciting moment was when I went and saw the Supreme Court.

After being in Washington DC for a little over a month, what has been the most challenging and most exciting moment in your internship experience?

Being in DC for almost a month has been a great experience that feels like it just flew by. But with that being said, getting off to a late start did not make things bad. While being snowed in for eleven days wasn’t really what we expected, it allowed us to have ample amount of time to get to know each other a little bit. I joke that the most challenging part so far was the walk in the blizzard where I felt like it was the most physical and emotional work out ever. Having to think about not falling and then having to keep your balance, phew what a challenge. Jokes aside, I think the most challenging experience has been the fast pace of the work environment. When something has to be done the timeline, most of the time, is now or by the end of the day … or in the case last week, one hour. This challenge is not something that can’t easily be overcome. Once I learned the pace, I was able to adjust what I had learned and use the challenge to then benefit me. The most exciting part so far in the internship has been being “behind the scenes”. We get see things in the media that happened right within our building, such as the Toyota hearings that recently took place. I think it is something very simple, but yet so exciting. With six weeks left I feel like, now more than ever, it is time to live the D.C. experience to the fullest and use these challenges and exciting moments to propel us through the end.

Based on Monday’s training on Good Public Policy: Grassroots Organizing and Electoral Politics, what you think the role of grassroots organizing is in the political process of this country?

Based on Monday’s training, grassroots organizing does more than just mobilize citizens to vote.  Grassroots organizing is an effective way to get individuals empowered to solve issues in their community.  This approach often leads to outcomes that are more desirable since those who are having the problems prescribe solutions.  The government often uses a top-down approach to solve most problems.  However, while this approach can be effective, it can also only solve parts of a problem.  Grassroots organizing uses a bottom-up approach that aims to include all actors being affected by a problem. This way, all angles of the problem can be recognized and solved.  Grassroots organizing empowers communities not only to change their community for the better, but it also mobilizes the community to engage civically.  This keeps elected officials accountable and responsive to the needs of the community.  Grassroots organizing is also an effective medium to get community organizers elected as public officials.  Getting community organizers elected to positions in the local School Board or City Council promotes communities to be responsive to their government.  However, it also empowers communities to demand change when public officials are not delivering results.  Change is achieved by organizing protests, letter campaigns, or petitions.  More importantly, it leads communities to voice their vote through the ballot box.  Making communities civically engaged by organizing them to solve their own issues is an effective way to promote livelihoods and democracy.  The tools presented at this training will surely be asset for me as I continue in my career as a public servant.

What you think the role of grassroots organizing is in the political process of this country?

The term ‘grassroots’ suggests an organic process that sprouts from the composition of the community and their needs and desires.  Grassroots organizing is another mechanism that works to balance the larger political structures.  It does so by incorporating all members of the community and encouraging participation from all people regardless of age, gender, and socioeconomic status.  Grassroots organizing allows people to voice their concerns in a welcoming environment and to create responses that are tailored to their specific community.

Grassroots Organizing

The importance of grassroots organizing was very evident during the Obama campaign.  The core of his campaign was based on politics run by a community and he was able to take the model of grassroots organizing, which is rooted on a local level, and expand it to a national level.  I was able to witness the importance of grassroots organizing for the Obama campaign as well as for voter registration on a very local level in my own community.  Although some people are hesitant when a stranger knocks on their door, others see it as a more personal way to be exposed to the political process.  It also allows for people who are not interested in the political process to become more interested and more involved.

What you think the role of grassroots organizing is in the political process of this country?

Grassroots organizing is a way for people to get together to ensure that their voices and opinions are heard in order to help shape good public policy.   Grassroots organizing is a group of people working together to accomplish a common goal.  Grassroots organization is the beginning of movements and it is driven by the politics of a community.  It is individuals taking responsibilty to help shape good public policy.