Fredonia senior gets glimpse into U.S. Capitol
Fredonia senior gets glimpse into U.S. Capitol
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For two weeks in July, I had the opportunity to intern in the U.S. House of Representatives for
the office of Congressman Jake Ellzey of Texas District 6. As excited as I was to pursue this internship and get an unfiltered glimpse into the world of politics, I was also uneasy about the whole prospect.
This was my first ever internship anywhere, and I didn't know what to expect. I imagined day after day of fiery debates, shouting matches in hearings, and all the frightening stories about Congress I had seen and heard from others.
To my surprise, most of my time was spent in a quiet office with an occasional phone call from a disgruntled constituent. Since I was only pursuing a two-week internship, there was only so much I could do in such a short time. Most of my day consisted of typical intern activities, such as answering phones, manning the front desk, and running errands between the office buildings.
But there were times where I had the chance to sit in on committee hearings and markups, squished in the back with all the other interns, scrawling down information in my notebook.
The first thing I noticed was the amount of bipartisan work going on in Congress. I arrived under the impression that the Capitol was a place of stark division, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that for every passionate hearing in the news, there were just as many quieter hearings that didn't make the headlines. The charged language and strong opinions were still there, but when they weren't debating, I occasionally saw a sense of amiability between the parties and representatives. Sometimes they even joked with each other, even after hours of serious, passionate debate.
Aside from the specific committee hearings, I also had the chance to attend an intern panel, where one of the congresswomen talked directly to the interns about her experience in office.
From her discussion, I realized how much admiration officers had for each other, as the Congresswoman emphasized the importance of respecting more experienced members in Congress as well as making sure you're not the smartest person in the room, but the most hard-working. She acknowledged the growing apathy among young people in the era of social media and shrinking attention spans, and how more and more people are losing their faith in Congress. Her opinion was that the apathy was justified, but this didn't change the fact that people could still decide the future of their country through their elected lawmakers.
The internship wasn't always inspiring speeches and quiet, reassuring discussions. Sometimes I attended hearings or spoke with people that tore apart my own opinions and beliefs without remorse. Whenever that happened, I had to take it upon myself to investigate these perspectives personally, whether it was through visiting museums, researching online, or just asking around for other opinions. Sometimes my beliefs were changed, sometimes they were not. Either way, it taught me the importance of seeking out the truth for myself instead of relying on others to tell me what was true.
My observations don't speak for everything going on in Congress. I was there for such a short
time, and I left feeling like there was still so much more to see. Nonetheless, my time there
showed me just how much work went unnoticed -- the bipartisanship, humility, and dedication to public service that made our country possible. I left Washington D.C. with a more nuanced understanding of the U.S. government, while also being reminded of the importance of initiative
when figuring out your own beliefs, especially when on the brink of adulthood.
Rosemary Gugino is a Fredonia resident and senior at Fredonia High School.