This summer I've been incredibly fortunate to participate in the Texas Tech Congressional Internship program. This program provides support for about 19 undergraduate or graduate students attending Texas Tech to take on unpaid internships in Washington, D.C. All 19 of us eat, sleep and work together.
Here are five things I've experienced just in the short time I've been interning on Capitol Hill:
1. History is happening.
While here this summer, we get to see history happen live. Major supreme court cases have been decided while we've been here. The Democratic gun control sit-in took place and we watched the protests from the Capitol stairs and the congressmen and congresswomen from the galleries through the night. Everyone on Capitol Hill is here trying to make a difference. In some way, no matter how small, we all get to be a part of history.
2. The media only tells half a story.
It's easy to believe everything you see on the evening news and read in the online newspapers about politics and the legislature. More often than not, these stories are skewed and don't tell a story in its complete truth. Issues are much more complicated than the simplified and filtered versions we usually see. Working on Capitol Hill has given me the perspective to dig deeper with every issue and not believe just what I'm being told.
3. Your roommates become family.
When you live in a building with 18 other people and are all more than 1,500 miles away from home, you'll become a family. Each one of us has such an entirely different background and story, but our time in Washington, D.C. has brought us together. I never knew just how close I would get with people so different than me and I'm so excited to continue these friendships back on campus.
4. Say “yes” to everything.
While in DC, I've spent a lot of time commuting on the metro and reading "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. In one particular chapter, Rubin discusses "The days are long, but the years are short." My days absolutely feel long with the hours I'm working. I'm tired at the end of the day and it sometimes feels like the hours are dragging by. Yet, at the same time, I can't believe that I'm already more than halfway through with my time in DC. I have a short seven weeks to be here and while sometimes all I want to do is call it an early night, I know that I have to make the most of the short time I get to be here.
5. We miss Texas Tech University.
Living in Washington, D.C. is a phenomenal experience, but missing our home and our "normal" is inevitable. After this experience and the support I've received from Texas Tech, their staff, and my fellow interns, I've never been more excited to return to campus as a Red Raider.
I will never be able to thank Texas Tech University enough for giving me this experience and I'm sure my fellow interns will agree. I've learned so much about myself and our government while I've been here. This experience never would have been possible without the housing Texas Tech provides and the scholarships they award to help alleviate our expenses. I am truly lucky to be able to call myself a Red Raider and will be proud to be an alumna after I graduate.
Thank you to everyone at Texas Tech University who has helped make the Congressional Internship program a once in a lifetime experience.
