Internship Location: Washington DC
Organization Type: Federal Government
Policy Areas: Foreign Affairs and the Economy
For my internship, I worked in the Washington D.C. office of Congresswoman Ann Wagner of the second district of Missouri. The most important aspect of this experience was interacting with constituents. My main tasks included answering phone calls from constituents who wanted to discuss certain issues they were facing, whether it was local Postal Service problems, or they wanted the Congresswoman to vote a certain way on bills, it was very interesting to hear what they had to say, especially because her district is split between urban and rural areas. Additionally, I gave constituents tours of the U.S. Capitol, which allowed me to connect with them face-to-face. The skills I learned from the LaFollette School helped me immensely, especially in the research field. We were tasked with gathering as much information about members of Congress as possible, more specifically, their political ideology and certain stances. Using the Congressional Research Service and skills I learned in PA380 which helped me understand how to read data sets, we were able to compile lists of Representatives and the potential of them being in favor or opposing certain legislation. What surprised me most was that Reps are usually so busy that they rarely spend time on their committees or the House Floor. They go on the floor to vote, unless they want to advocate for or against a bill, and for committees, they go in for their questioning and then usually leave right after. I highly recommend this internship for people who would like to pursue a career in politics, this experience was incredibly rewarding.