Summer Internship: My Expirience in Public Service
The question of my experience on the Hill is one I have been asked quite a bit. Last week I paneled a board hosted by St. Lawrence University regarding the topic, although the question of my experience is quite frequent by even students. Therefore, when asked by Zach to do a piece on it, I thought why not.
A congressional internship is not a small feat, although not as glamorous as one may make it out to be. Although, understanding what it means to work for the Energy and Commerce Committee is one students, or our generation, know little about.
The idea of public service is an idea which in recent years has been lost. It is not too often students attempt to find a career in public service. The concept of serving the public has been lost in translation in the past few decades. Despite the loss in attempt to serve the general public, it is crucial necessity to any country, but more importantly the United States. Recent years have seen a dramatic decline in support for the US, and the general public as a whole. The New York Times countlessly release polls detailing the sever disaffection among the American public with the country as a whole. Furthermore, a new study by Bradford Wilcox points to the high dissatisfaction among liberal men and women within this country in the overall feeling of satisfaction, specifically with mental health. The data within the study is packed, but it points to a unique period in current American society. The issue being that many within this country are simply not satisfied with the bigger picture, leading to a cascading affect of the individual feeling less satisfied overall with their own mental health.
When the country is struggling economically, socially and politically. Many within the country feel it. Although, there is only one solution to the current predicament the country finds it’s self in, which is to become involved.
With that being said, I turn to my own internship experience in public service. Working for the E&C was a teen-like-feeling. Post high school, the opportunity to be on a team you truly feel for dissipates rather quickly, yet this opportunity felt like high school football once more. Everyone knew everyone, and their tasks. Furthermore, everyone else in the back of their mind understood the bigger objective. The idea that you are not earning a paycheck, the spotlight, or anything else. You are simply doing the work of the people, you are fulfilling a public service. Many overlook Congress for it’s many flaws, as I have done myself, although the importance of working for others was my biggest take away. Whether it was Reese’s law to addresses the sadly common facility of children swallowing button batteries, or the American Data Privacy Protection Act-all the work was done so for others. My experience was not one of glamour, spotlight or even the nightlife that the District of Columbia provides. Rather, my experience was the fact I worked to solve issues everyday Americans had, rather than posting about it on Instagram.