Leaving my junior year of high school, I was a shy, quiet, and academically excelling recluse. I would go entire days without uttering more than a few comments and maybe sharing one conversation at dinner with my family. And I was okay with this. I spent my waking moments engrossed in essays, trigonometry, AP Biology exams, and track practice, oblivious to the happenings around me and completely devoid of confidence. And I was okay with this, because I never needed to be anything else.

At the close of the school year, a representative of the Valadao for Congress campaign spoke to my AP US History class about volunteer positions with an impressive incentive: a letter of recommendation from the Congressman. Always looking to boost my resume for college applications that were soon headed my way, I jumped at the opportunity, thinking this letter could affect scholarship awards when, really, it was the experience itself that had the most benefit.

As an intern for Valadao for Congress, I made phone calls all day long during the summer prior to my senior year of high school. This is called phone-banking. At first, I was terrible; I was nervous talking on the phone; I was awkward; I was so afraid of making mistakes, which was the biggest mistake I was making.

A few thousand dials later (literally), my nerves were gone, I was more comfortable speaking on the phone, and I became a phone-bank whiz. Making phone calls from an automated dialing system may not seem like the most impressive professional skill, but calling is so much for than pressing dial and waiting for a voice on the other end; the skill is everything that comes after, “Hello?”

Everything after is unknown. I couldn’t predict what the individual would say or if they would be nice or belligerent or speak the same language as I do. I tried so hard to be in control and be perfect, and that actually made it more difficult. The best thing I could do was to not have expectations and just accept whatever was going to come without trying to foresee every comment and question. Fussing over every detail in my life had always left me high-strung and stressed out. Eventually, I learned how to let go of having control over everything and relax.

Having been extremely introverted, making small talk over the phone was like torture. Practice changed this, and phone-banking was essentially socializing practice for me; I learned how to be friendly and talk to people and make conversation. I learned how to communicate with ease and finally developed some confidence.

Sometimes, the people I had to call were angry, and I was afraid of them. Typically, I would have done everything to avoid any sort of confrontation, but it was my job to call, and I knew I wasn’t trying to offend anyone. I had to realize that it’s not my fault if someone doesn’t like what I’m doing. I was as friendly as I could be, and that wasn’t always enough. I accepted it, and I let it go. This transferred into my day-to-day life. The very thought of disappointing, offending, confronting, or being disliked by anyone was crippling for me; however, after being hung up on over and over and yelled at about politics I didn’t even completely understand yet, I wasn’t concerned about what other people were thinking about me anymore, over the phone or at school or anywhere else. I learned to defend myself.

Phone-banking also had a very specific requirement for excellence: smiling. Making a call with a smile comes across as friendlier and warmer, even if no one can see it. There were many days that I didn’t feel like smiling; I didn’t feel like being friendly and warm; I didn’t feel like making an effort to be kind to the few people who decided to answer their phone. But I learned how to put on a good face and find a positive attitude, even when all I wanted was to go take a nap.

Being an intern revolved around phone-banking, but a large part of the job was interacting with my employers and other professionals. I had never had a job before, so these were my first “bosses.” I was incredibly lucky to have had such amazing people to answer to and teach me about politics and professionalism and play a large role in the development of my professional skills. These professional skills that I learned from their example led to every job I’ve had since.

After the election, I worked in a family owned donut shop in my hometown. I was able to display confidence and competence for my first interview and was immediately hired. When I moved away for school, I applied for a telecommunicating job (basically phone-baking) in the admissions department. On the application, I detailed my extensive experience from my time with the campaign, and the department had decided to hire me before we even met in person. After working there last semester, I was able to display my professional and phone-banking skills so effectively that they hired my as a Student Admissions Aid for this fall and asked me to supervise the telecommunications.

Every professional endeavor I’ve pursued has been positively affected by my internship that year; however, I owe Valadao for Congress recognition for more than a just couple jobs. I live a more confident, comfortable life, and I can speak to peers without breaking a sweat and analyzing every word I say and every phrase they respond, and I can choose to smile even when I’m in a bad mood, and I can defend my opinions and views, and I can just be fearlessly who I am. Years later, I am still reaping the benefits of that internship every day, and I am forever grateful for the experience. Thank you, Cole, Andrew, Alexis, and Congressman Valadao.