Livin’ on a Prayer (… you know, because we’re halfway there)

Since the last blog post I wrote, it has gotten significantly colder here in D.C. I love being able to experience the leaves on the trees change color from green to yellow to red, and finally wearing jeans comfortably is fantastic. However, the seven days of 24-hour rain had me feeling like I lived in Seattle and is something that I definitely will not miss in Arizona.

Over the past few weeks, my internship has progressed significantly in terms of the assignments and projects I am completing as well as how busy the office is, which is great. September’s session weeks were hectic, and I loved it! I feel like I am getting the hang of my role and finally feel natural sitting at my desk completing work for my coworkers or the Congressman himself.

I have been learning how to give better Capitol tours through much practice and individual study. This aspect has been particularly fun for me because I love American history and feel like I get to go on a little field trip every time I make my way to the Capitol. I was asked to give a tour last week to a group of visiting ASU graduate students and happily accepted. While the tour did not end up happening because of schedule constraints (…thanks, DC rain :), I was flattered to have been asked and took the opportunity to learn more about the history of the Capitol. Next month I am looking forward to giving a tour to my grandparents’ past neighbors, who I remember spending time with when I was little and would visit. I haven’t seen them since I was maybe five or six, so it will be fun to reconnect and trade stories. I feel super special that they wanted to travel here at a time that I could give them a tour!

Another neat part of what I do as an intern is escorting visitors to the office. For security reasons, any visitors need a Capitol Hill staff member to escort them to the office they wish to visit. While the task itself is really just running up and down stairs for the better part of half an hour each day, I really enjoy chatting with our office’s visitors as I take them up. I get to learn about where they’re from, the organization they represent, and what current issues they are concerned about and would like to discuss with Congressman Wilson. Usually they ask me some of the same questions and it can be a fun conversation. Our office often hosts international visitors for various meetings due to Congressman Wilson being on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. I get to hear different languages being spoken and have even had opportunities to sit in on some of the meetings!

One such meeting was with a group of Turkish delegates, including members of Turkey’s parliament and the Turkish Ambassador to the United States, Murat Mercan. It was about two weeks ago and was easily the coolest day I had in the office. Currently I am particularly interested in U.S. foreign policy toward Turkey as I am enrolled in a Policy Design Studio course. My classmates and I act as members of a mock embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and discuss current worldwide events as they relate to the relationship and advise the Ambassador of the mission (our professor) on what the U.S. embassy might do in response.

Because of my focus on Turkey and the interest I have in the country’s affairs, the meeting was both captivating and incredibly relevant. While I won’t detail what was discussed during the meeting, it was so neat getting to see diplomacy in action and see real-time and in person the very kinds of scenarios that we have been discussing in class. I loved it!

In terms of other notable events I have attended, I was able to go to a hearing for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The hearing focused on the current crisis that Haiti faces and opened my eyes to democracy truly being a worldwide effort. It is sad to know that the United States does not always make the best decisions policy-wise, even when our intentions have been to help. However, my takeaway from the hearing that not only is it important to give feedback and ask for help, but that also the United States genuinely wishes to help other countries in need and those who are in Congress work incredibly hard to make it so.

I am excited to continue working in my internship! I am grateful for the opportunity I have had and will continue to have to learn more about the inner workings of the government. I have grown much more appreciative of the country that I live in and the rights and freedoms I have, as a result of individuals who work every day to pass new laws and amendments while advocating for the people that they represent.

Aside from my internship, I have been doing a lot of sight-seeing and trying new food. While it’s safe to say that the Phoenix area has much better Mexican food than D.C. can offer, here there is so much more different cuisine to try, and I LOVE it. I am having an absolute blast here and enjoy every minute!

Welcome to D.C.!

I made it! Anyone who knows me knows that I have been dreaming to live and intern in Washington, D.C., since my first visit here four years ago. It was a sight-seeing trip with my family, and I saw enough to know I needed to come back and stay for as long as I could.

Within the Policy and Design Studio at ASU, I have the opportunity to live and intern in D.C. while also taking a course on foreign policy where I am a member of a mock U.S. Embassy in Turkey. I enjoy the class very much and have learned an incredible amount about foreign policy already, so I can’t wait to see where the semester takes me and my team! As far as the internship component of the program, I am working in the office of Congressman Joe Wilson, a Republican Representative from the Second District of South Carolina. To sum up my experience thus far in one sentence: it has been exactly what I thought it would be and somehow also nothing at all how I pictured it.

To start off, I for some reason thought that I would be working in the Capitol building. When I was provided the address of the office, it dawned on me that it definitely wouldn’t be possible to have 435 offices for the House of Representatives on the south wing of the Capitol. Instead, I work in an office building right across the street. It’s pretty cool, though, because I get to spend a lot of time in the Capitol and am regularly going between buildings using the super-top-secret underground tunnel system that connects many of the buildings on Capitol Hill. Ok, fine… so it’s not actually so secret. But it does make me feel like I’m on some kind of high-profile mission when I use it.

The Longworth Building, where I work

The House of Representatives (or the House) is the lower chamber of the bicameral legislature of the United States. It works to make and pass federal laws, in conjunction with the Senate, which holds separate but equal power. The House has the unique powers of initiating revenue bills, impeaching federal officials, and electing the President if there is a tie in the Electoral College.  There are different committees within the House each dedicated to a specific issues, such as agriculture, budget, education and labor, energy and commerce, and ethics. I am lucky enough to work in Congressman Joe Wilson’s office for many reasons, one of them being that he a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which allows me an inside access to how the House is currently handling matters with countries around the world. This sometimes mirrors the work that I do for my school course on foreign policy and is incredibly helpful in that aspect.

The past week we had multiple foreign affairs-related visits in our office, including a Korean Delegation with multiple high-ranking Korean military officials, and a group from the Ukrainian Embassy. I do not sit in these meetings, but instead have the task to meet the visitors outside of the office building and escort them through security up to our office. A simple task, yet incredibly daunting as I stand, panicking over how to initiate (or worse, continue) small talk as we wait for the elevator for what seems like five minutes. It is fun to ask them about their day and where they have already been, and I am sure I will grow into the task as I continue.

While I may have additional roles added on as my time in the House goes on, for now I focus mainly on answering calls from constituents (citizens of the Second District of South Carolina) and helping to resolve their issues or pass along comments to Representative Wilson, researching various issues to create talking points and draft messages for Representative Wilson to use at events, and giving tours of the Capitol. I particularly like giving tours, as I get to interact with individuals who have typically never visited D.C. and have the same awe in their eyes that I must have had four years ago on the trip with my family. I enjoy giving details of the history of the United States that have been reflected in the Capitol through its construction, artwork, and the people that continue to fill it.

A photo I took on my way to work. This is the east side of the Capitol–look how cool the clouds are!

This past Monday, I gave a tour to two individuals. One was a South Carolina native while the other was from the UK. To be quite honest, it was the hardest tour I’ve given because the gentleman from the UK was so curious about everything! I had to admit more than once that I did not have an answer to his question, but it was a very helpful experience for me to learn areas where I lack knowledge. Most people who tour are just amazed by the architecture, paintings, and statues that they don’t care to hear too much from me, which is just fine. It means that I get some time to look deeper into a specific painting or think about the history of a certain statue as I follow like a high school dance chaperone, just slightly less awkward.

One thing that has become abundantly clear from my short time at the House is how important it is to represent this wonderful organization with an image of dignity and kindness. While any number of comments could be made about this being politically fueled, some of which do have merit, I view it as wanting to mirror the values of the United States’ government and the people who are dedicated to improving the lives of its citizens. Even when a constituent calls and is not particularly kind to me, I believe that it is so important that I am kind to them because I’m not aware of their past experiences with and attitudes toward the House, or the government in general. If I, a lowly intern, am the only person that an individual interacts with, their perception can be influenced heavily by my character and actions, which I always want to be positive. Largely because of the influence of others that I have met during my time here, I strive to act in a manner consistent with what I want people to think of the United States’ government.

With my time here in D.C., I hope to continue exploring my interests and passions. I already noted foreign affairs, but I also am interested in global health and law on a broad scale. I am grateful to spend my time in an environment where I can attend any number of hearings that relate to those fields, and even explore completely new fields to add to or refine my interests. It was my goal to come to D.C. with an open mind, ready to learn, grow, and further develop my plans for the future. So far, it’s going pretty well! I feel so lucky to live in this beautiful and bustling city, where I can share experiences with individuals from all over the world and also learn more about my home nation and the processes that take part within its government.

Celine, Araceli, Rachel, and I. The four roommates!

The Washington Monument with the light of the sunset reflecting on it.