During the Spring 2024 semester, I had the opportunity to intern on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Intern in the office of a United States Senator. Some of my daily responsibilities included sorting mail, speaking with constituents on the phone and logging their concerns, meeting guests in the front office, providing tours of the U.S. Capitol, and working on various projects with Senate staffers. This internship has equipped me with a series of critical skillsets including a deep sense of responsibility as well as excellent time management and multi-tasking skills. Often, I must juggle completing multiple tasks at once for several different staff teams. Furthermore, I have learned how to collaborate with others and remain calm in the face of assignments that must sometimes be completed within a very short time frame. These skills have proven essential in my master’s program courses when it came to collaborative assignments with classmates, and I know that these skills will serve me well post-graduation.
This internship has proven to be an invaluable experience and one that has been incredibly helpful to me as a Global Affairs graduate student. One significant component of my job as an intern was working closely with the Senator’s various policy teams and providing them with comprehensive support. Often, I was placed with policy teams who challenged me by assigning me projects on topics that I was unfamiliar with as a Global Affairs major, for example finance, health, and agriculture-oriented projects within the context of just the United States. Working with these teams enabled me to stay up to date on pressing issues that I found not only affected the country, but the rest of the world as well. For instance, I recently drafted a memo for a staffer on a Senate Finance Committee hearing regarding the investigation into the recent Change Healthcare hack, which nearly paralyzed the U.S. healthcare system in late February. This was not only a captivating subject to learn about, but also one that holds relevance in global discussions on cybersecurity and defense.
To conclude, these positive experiences have not only expanded my knowledge on domestic affairs but have also shaped my career goals in that I am currently in the process of applying for various Staff Assistant and Foreign Policy positions on Capitol Hill. I am so pleased to have been able to find such a rewarding opportunity and look forward to my next adventure on the Hill.