I had the honor to represent Wabash College this summer in our country’s capital of Washington DC. I spent six weeks interning for Indiana Senator Mike Braun In his office in the Russell Senate building. During my six-week internship, I was in office during full business hours Monday through Friday. I lived in a 4-man apartment in an old brownstone in the Capital Hill area that had been converted into multiple apartments to house college interns from all over the country like myself. There was a picture of Hillary Clinton, a former resident, in the lobby highlighting the long history of rising, ambitious students. It was fun to share my Wabash experience with other students in my building from around the country and learn about their college experience and journey to DC.
Every week in session Senator Braun and Senator Todd Young host a “Hoosier Huddle”, a time where constituents from all over Indiana travel to DC to meet with the Senators and highlight issues back home. I watched every week as Senator Braun actively listened to each group there
individually. Despite all of his accomplishments and success, it is impressive to see Senator Braun’s commitment to serving the people of Indiana; he even travels and meets with Hoosiers in all 92 counties in the state every year. Additionally, I gave tours of the Capital whenever constituents were in town and I helped research bill proposals Senator Braun was considering.
Senator Braun was recognized this year as the most effective first term Republican Senator and his staff is very busy and efficient.
The pace in the Russell Senate building, and DC in general, is very intense. Most days I logged over 20,000 steps. While I have not formally declared my major, the internship solidified my belief that I want to be involved in active and energized environments. This year I will formalize
my plan to focus on Rhetoric, business, and Asian Studies. I attended Senate hearings and China is an important presence in the US economy and politics. Being able to eventually be fluent in Chinese will be a valuable skill for me when I graduate.
Most days I handled calls from constituents and responded to their emails. Being able to calmly handle sometimes irate people, while still making them feel heard, is obviously critical. Having just finished my freshman year, I was the youngest intern that I encountered. I credit my
boarding high school experience, gap year program through Wheaton College, and especially my first year at Wabash and position in the career services office for preparing me well for this tremendous opportunity. A special thanks to Drs. Dunaway and Clark for writing letters of recommendation for my application and Cassie Hagan for help with funding towards my non-paid internship and housing expenses through Coons funding.
