Goodbye For Now

Before I started college, I was very nervous about how I was going to fit in. Being a first-generation student meant that I didn’t have many resources to help me learn about college life. The first stanza of the poem resonated with my work ethic in connection to school. Due to my circumstances, I learned to work hard and ask a lot of questions. Thankfully, those two skills have gotten me through the last 3 years of college. As children we are taught that success is a product of hard work, but what they don’t teach us is that some people are born into success. While I may not have had an easy path to my “success”, I have found that having to work for the things I have makes me appreciate them more. I always consider myself one of the lucky ones. The sixth stanza in this poem reminds me of how lucky I feel to have opportunities. To me this part of the poem says that we should not take things for granted because there are others that wish they were in our place. 

As we all know, poetry is subjective. This specific poem has a lot of information to digest and not everything is organized perfectly to fit my life. The second and eighth stanzas are the two that relate the most to my internship this summer. To me, the second stanza is trying to say we should be tolerant of others. As well as, being selfish does not benefit the greater cause. Being in D.C. has made me realize that our country is very divided. My internships this summer on capitol hill put me in the middle of the division. I was forced to see both sides of the aisle (literally). The amount of selfish and intolerant people I have seen on capitol hill, showed me how ugly things can get. As a citizen of this country, I plan to do my part in making the U.S. a better country for all of us.

In regard to my future, the third stanza makes me remember that patience is the key. Sometimes I am quick to rush into things, but I have to remind myself that I am young, and I have time. Following that same logic, the fourth stanza tells me that good things come to those who wait. I have a lot of plans for the future, but I am constantly tormented with the idea that I am running out of time. Becoming a lawyer is a lengthy process with many barriers for a person like me but with hard work and patience, I will get there. In addition, I think it is important to be happy with my career. The final stanza is a lesson on happiness, it says that doing something you love will never seem like work. I am very passionate about helping others and specifically my community. So, my hope is that while I continue to help my community, I will always be happy doing my job. 

I believe the most important thing I learned throughout my time here, has been that I do not want to be in D.C. at the moment. My happiness resides with seeing the people I help on a daily basis. To work on capitol hill is a great honor and a very important job, but it does not bring me happiness. I was able to meet a lot of individuals who love their jobs on the hill and that brings me comfort. While I may not want to work on capitol hill, there are many other competent people who do. Perhaps in the future I will change my mind and decide to return to the hill. For now, I will be returning to Arizona with an abundance of knowledge, resources, and connections, that will help me achieve my goals. 

Is It Really Almost Over?

This entire summer has been a very valuable learning experience, both professionally and personally. Being a capital scholar has been a life changing experience for me. Had I not taken a chance and applied to this program, who knows what path I would have taken. I will forever be grateful for the experience and friendships I have made along the way. In my first blog post, I talked about my recently learned networking experiences and how excited I was to put them to use. After having been here in D.C. for two months, I am happy to say that I have made many connections and friendships. Being exposed to life on capitol hill was an eye-opening experience to me and making connections was difficult at first. It was difficult because I saw myself as just an intern and gave myself confidence issues. I quickly learned that If I did not value myself, neither would others. After changing my approach, I was more easily able to speak to other staff members about their careers and advice. Many of them had very valuable lessons to pass on to me, which will likely stick with me for the rest of my life. One valuable thing that I learn is that the hill is not for me, at least not now. I am glad I was able to turn this summer into a learning experience, rather than learn this hard truth later in life. 

In conjunction with my lesson in confidence, I learned that everyone on capitol hill is human. People like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are more than just political celebrities. After my second week on capitol hill, I began seeing congress members as people rather than celebrities. Every time I got the chance to speak to a senator or house representative, I was reminded at how humble the usually are. Interestingly enough, I’ve seen Senator Rand Paul on more occasions than Senator Kyrsten Sinema. Being an intern in the Senate, I learned the ins and outs of where most senators could be spotted. In my free time, I would go walk around the halls of the capitol and occasionally see Senators. It kind of became a game for me and my fellow interns, every day was a new opportunity to see a different Senator. After having memorized all 100 senators in my first couple of weeks in the senate (this was a requirement), it was easy to identify senators. I do not believe I went a single day without seeing a Senator, which was an amazing learning experience in and of itself. 

On a personal level, this summer really helped me realize how excited I am for law school. Working with other young professionals and talking about our futures, made me really focus on mine. Immigration has always been a hot topic in politics. This summer I got a chance to be on the receiving end of constituent comments about all policy but mostly immigration. The supportive comments gave me hope and the not so supportive ones fueled my passion for this fight even more. It has never been clearer to me that I want to be an immigration attorney. 

To bring it all together, I think the most impactful relationships I made are actually my fellow capitol scholars. The debates we had among each other were perhaps some of the most genuine conversations I’ve had all summer. Being able to watch the presidential debates with others interested in politics was very fun. I have learned so much from other individuals in this program about basically every topic possible. Our living situations have really forced us to get to know each other and in return learn more about ourselves. I was nervous to have so many roommates at first, but I don’t think I would have chosen it any other way. The friendships I have made this summer will certainly carry on for a long time. I am also certain that many of my peers are going to do amazing things in their careers and I cannot wait to help them get there. 

Halfway There

This year, my Fourth of July was very different from other years. For the first time ever, i did not celebrate. I was very conflicted about how to spend this holiday. On one side, I wanted to experience the beauty of this event in our nations capital, but on the other, I felt as though I would see more division than unity. Normally, I can escape politics and celebrate as usual in Arizona. Being in D.C. this year, was the opposite. All anyone could talk about was the presidents speech and the protests around it. It was sad to see that a holiday as significant as this one, became a political game. In previous years, we could put away our opinions and agree that this is our home and we love it. With everything that has been happening as of late, I simply did not have the motivation to celebrate. 

I spent my Fourth of July at home, with no traditional celebration. Most of my day was spent reflecting my luck to have been born in this country. I decided to focus on the reasons I love this country and not the reasons it has disappointed me. Had I been born in a 3rd world country, the privileges I take for granted now may not exist in my life. Millions of people dream of a life in The United States and I am fortunate enough to be here. I am guilty of misunderstanding why so many people want to be here with everything that is happening. Yet, when I think of what people are willing to risk to come here, i am reminded that their everyday lives must be very difficult. To me, the Fourth of July is a reminder that I have something that others are willing to die for. I am extremely thankful for the men and women who have fought for our nations freedom. 

This week I learned the history behind Eusebio Francisco Kino, one of the two statues Arizona has in the capital building. He was a Jesuit missionary and explorer. His discoveries help lead the settlement of Arizona. Interestingly enough, he is famous in Mexico as well. There is a town in Sonora, Mexico named after him. It is named Magdalena de Kino and he is buried in a church within the town. It’s very interesting to see how important this man has been, not only to Arizona, but also to Mexico. I wish I had learned more about him while I was growing up. 

Lets work together

On Saturday, we all spent some time at the BBQ event doing various tasks to help the community. In my section, we were selling non-alcohlic beverages. It was fun to see all of the fun people at this event. Our booth was right in front of some live music that was very uplifting and energetic. Unfortunately, it was a hot day and there was many customers looking for cold beverages. The refrigerators in our section broke so we had to be very innovative about cooling down all of the drinks. These moments gave me flashbacks to when I used to work in the food industry. Thankfully, very helpful people surrounded me and I did not have to do this alone. We were able to raise a lot of money, which I hope will be going to a good cause. In addition, the food was amazing. I tried some bbq ribs, as well as fried mac and cheese. 

My networking skills have definitely improved during my time in D.C. and they continue to improve every day. Through capital scholars, I have had several opportunities to meet very interesting people. I received many business cards for the people I have met and emailed them with appreciation. These experiences have led me to be more confident about building relationships on the hill. Linked in has proved to be very helpful in connecting with my fellow coworkers. In my office, we are required to have lunch with different staff members through our time here. This has allowed me the opportunity to get to know the roles that different people in the office take on. It has also helped me get to know my coworkers better. Some of the connections that I have made in this office have been very strong and I am sure will carry over into my future career. I have tried to take advantage of all of the opportunities to network that I have been given, including asking people to join me for coffee. I also tried to stay in touch with some of the people I previously interviewed with, including Marcus Mason at the Madison group. Although I chose to not join the Madison group this summer for an internship, I wanted to keep a good relationship with them. I truly believe that we never know where we are going to end up and we should cultivate any possible relationship with people that might help us out one day. In politics, working with others and creating relationships is very important. Things cannot get done in congress by a single person, it has to be a group effort. I know that my networking skills will continue to improve and that they will always be an important part of my everyday life, as well as my career. 

This week I learned that the congressional charity baseball game, exists. Although I had never heard of it, the idea of having congress members play baseball, really intrigued me. I decided to go tonight to see what it was all about. It was very interesting to see how the two political parties were split into the separate teams. I believe it is a good example of how politics is seen in The United States, two competitive teams playing to win. I appreciate that we were all able to gather peacefully and have fun without judgment for the colors you are wearing. I am very glad that I went to this game, it was a reminder that regardless of our political affiliations, we can put our differences aside for the greater good. 

We’re All Human

I am currently interning at Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s office. For those of you who do not know her, she is the Democratic Senator of Arizona. She won her election in 2018, taking over Jeff Flakes seat. Her opponent Martha McCsally was nominated to John McCain’s seat after his death. Both women were freshman members of this incoming Senate. Being a freshman member of the Senate has come with a lot of new roles for the Senator. She is on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Also, on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. In addition, she is on both the Senate Special Committee on Aging and on Veterans’ Affairs. As well as, the Senate Committee on banking, Housing, And Urban Affairs. Those committees are a good depiction of the issues that Senator Sinema focuses on.  Her moderate approach is what got her elected to Arizona’s Senate as a Democrat. She is the first ever woman elected to the Arizona Senate and first Democrat in over 20 years. Her office is located in the Senate Hart building, which is where I work. 

My duties in the office vary by week. My first week in the office, I was on the front desk rotation. Being at the front desk comes with greeting constituents, handling mail, and doing tours. There are many lobbyist who come in every day, either for a meeting with a legislative aid or to drop off things they would like the senator to see. There are two desks in the front office space, one is occupied by a staff assistant and the other is usually taken by an intern. When the mail comes in, the interns are the first to sort through it. We separate the things that need a response from the ones who do not. We log everything that we can and create summaries for the legislative correspondents to use as a guide when responding to constituents. The tours are my favorite part of being on the front desk rotation. Constituents from Arizona call our office to schedule a tour a few weeks in advance. Essentially, the tour is very similar to one that would be given by staff in the Capitol Building. As staff members, we have access to areas that regular workers do not, which allows us to give constituents a unique experience. At the end of the tours we give everyone in the group gallery passes to both the house and the senate. The passes are good for 2 years and allow constituents to go watch votes being done on the house or senate floors. These experiences are highly recommended and should be taken advantage of by constituents whenever possible. 

This weekend was eventful and interesting. Something fun that I did was go salsa dancing. I had never been to a salsa specific dance hall and it was very full of culture. I had a lot of fun dancing and learning new steps alongside many other people. There was both live music and a DJ for when the band got tired. I felt that this experience was unique and far different from what you would expect someone in D.C. to do. My plans usually include museums and monuments, so this was a welcoming change of pace. I was reminded that D.C. is not only a place of work, but the home to many. 

This week, I learned how difficult working with constituents can be on a day to day basis. It is a hard job to try to please everyone. Arizona is especially difficult due to our recent transition into a swing state. Our state is very diverse in beliefs and this makes it difficult on representatives to make their constituents happy. Listening to calls from Arizona residents makes me realize just how demanding working in Congressional offices is and the toll it puts on everyone working here. I appreciate my representatives on another level now and all of their staff.

I also realized that these famous senators and representatives that we are so accustomed to seeing on TV, are more human than we remember. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing many of our senators and representatives around the capitol and they are always very friendly. It’s interesting to see people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren off the TV screen. Both of these presidential candidates are seen taking pictures and talking to people in the capitol all the time. Being able to work in the same spaces as these people inspires me.

Dare to Dream

Love’s Labour’s Lost was a very funny play. I really enjoyed how the theater we went to put a modern spin to it. When the production was over, I really couldn’t believe I had just watched a Shakespeare play. I had this idea in my head that all of Shakespeare’s creations were tragedies, but of course that is not true. Though, it is true that his most well-known plays are tragedies. The main plot of the story is about how the king of Navarre and his three men are attempting to swear off women to focus on studying and fasting. Expectedly, this does not work out for them and they all end up falling in love with women from France. I won’t go into too much detail because I’m sure my fellow capital scholars will write about it, but I really had a great time at this event. 

The capital building is truly a maze. I know the tour route inside and out and have found out many amazing facts. One interesting thing that relates to Arizona, is the proposal to replace our statue of Eusebio Francisco Kino with a statue of John McCain. There is large support for this proposal and will likely happen in the near future. Being an Arizona Native, I admire John McCain and his service to our country. After visiting his gravesite at the naval academy, I was reminded that he is loved by many. Another interesting thing about the capital building is the amount of accessible places that are open to interns. I have been allowed to enter the cloakrooms in both the house and the senate. In these rooms we can see the senator’s cloaks and if the door is open you can get a glimpse of the senate and house floors. In both of these cases, congress was not in session, therefore I did not see any congress members. With my badge I am able to get into the viewing galleries fairly easily and can get past security with priority. I am also allowed to take the staff only metro from the senate to the capital building, which is used daily by senators. I have seen many senators on this metro including Mitt Romney, Corey Booker, Robert Menendez and various others. A third thing that I have found interesting here at the capitol is the unique management of every office. Every senator and member of Congress runs their office to their individual liking. In some offices, priority number one is constituent services and working on reelection. I found that this situation occurs mostly in swing states, such as the situation we are currently in in Arizona. Other offices prioritize press and news. There are no two offices that are run the same way. 

Last week, on my second day of work, I got to witness the Dream and Promise Act pass on the house floor. I learned a lot about the hard work that goes into getting a bill passed and the importance of educating congress members so that they can make an educated decision. This was my first time in the galleries and the issue was very close to my heart. Some of the stories I heard broke my heart and even moved me to tears. The moment the vote hit 218 the gallery erupted in happiness. My heart was so filled with joy to see all of the people being affected by this bill. I later went home and saw the bill all over social media, which was a unique experience to know that I was there insides the room where it all happened. Although, this bill will likely not get far in the senate, I am very happy it reminded the country that these dreamers still need our help. I hope that in the future this bill or something similar will be passed. In the meantime, I hope to learn more about how I can help make this country a better place for all of the people residing here. 

The beginning

The first day I arrived in D.C. I noticed two main things, the way people dressed and of course the humidity. Everything was new to me and I felt completely lost, since this was the first time that I had been in our nation’s capital. I remember watching the capital building and the pentagon from my Uber’s window and it finally hit me that I had arrived. All of the buildings looked so big and important and I remember thinking that I wanted to visit everything I possibly could. The people of D.C. dress very professional and always look rushed. The speed of this city sometimes overwhelms me. The first few days I spent unpacking and trying to get comfortable in my new apartment. I arrived a few days before everyone else, so I explored Woodley park on my own. It was not hard to notice that everything I needed was within short walking distance and even the metro is very easily accessible. I was very impressed with the beauty of D.C. and all of the green surroundings. Being a native Arizonan, I am not used to seeing a great deal of plant life besides cactus, therefore this was a positive change. 

On the first couple of days as a group, we toured the state capitol, the supreme court, and the library of congress. It was my first time visiting all of these sites and it was very extraordinary to say the least. After having worked in the senate for a few days now, I learned that the tours we took last week are not easy to organize, specifically the supreme court one. I’m thankful that Ms. Grant and Dr. Herrera were able to organize these great tours for us. During the state capitol tour, I learn a lot of useful facts that I can now use when I conduct my own tours. Many of the facts our tour guide stated gave me flashbacks to my high school US history class. It was very interesting to see all of the facts I had hidden in my head come out in the state capitol. In high school we learned about Susan B. Anthony and her fight for women’s suffrage and in the state capitol I was happy to see a statue of her and two others. It was especially important to me that the statue had an unfinished piece to symbolize the ongoing fight for women’s rights. It was also amazing to see the statues of Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King Jr. One of the first places on the tour is emancipation hall, which is where everyone begins their tour. The symbolism of this hall is to commemorate the slaves who built the capital and I believe it was a very necessary gesture. Our group was also allowed to visit the speaker’s balcony which has an amazing view of the pentagon. Again, I recently learned that being able to see the speaker’s balcony is a privilege and not many people get to experience that. 

After visiting the offices of Congressmen Greg Stanton, David Schweikert, and Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick, I learn many very valuable lessons from their staff. Essentially, they explained what each of them did to get to where they are. I learned that making connections in D.C. is a very easy process, everyone knows each other, and it is a small city. Ben Owens told us that patience is key if you want to make it on capitol hill. I have been attempting to practice this during my first week in Senator Sinema’s office. I have made relationships with my co-workers and tried to be involved in a little bit of everything going on in the office. Over the first week we spent as a group in D.C., we had many opportunities to practice networking. I put those skills to use once I started my internship and it seems to be working. I am excited to see how all of these relationships help me out in the long run.