My Experience
My time at this office was an eyeopener. This internship was such a wonderful opportunity and I learned so much from all of the experiences and opportunities during my time here. One of the things that I enjoyed that most at this internship were the ability that we are part of the bigger team. As interns, there was a lot of weight put onto us because we were so integral to the team. There were more interns that staff members in the office and between offices and so I was interesting to see everything that I can do as an intern.
One of my favorite memories of my internship was the meeting that I got to with Joe. Joe was the very first person that I met at the office and one of my very first interactions with him was going to a community meeting. Not only did this experience shape my perspective on the internship that I was about to embark on but it showed me the culture of community that Mark DeSaulnier values. The reason why his constituents love him so much is that he is so deeply invested in his community and what his community wants. Never in all my time participating in politics have I seen a politician or even a representative of a politician so to an event--so this was a pleasant surprise and made me proud to be an intern for the congressman.
The most important thing that I learned from this internship was the reality of bureaucracy. Our democracy, or our government as I should say is dependent on so many people so many things that getting something done or even getting something to move along is not easy at all. I knew that this was the reality of our government from history books and politics classes but I never really experienced how true this really is until I began to work at this internship. It was really dishearting and sad when really good people had really bad things happen to them and nothing could be done for them--a lot of the constituent services and a lot of the cases that I had experience with at the Congressman's office took so much time because of the bureaucracy. In my experience with the cases, each one took months to close and I never saw I full case close so that was so telling for me of how pervasive and how slow the bureaucracy really is.
Overall, this internship was really helpful and effective as a form of career development. I knew that this was not really a pathway that I wanted to take after my undergrad and graduate school, and this internship solidified that for me. Being in the thick of politics and experiencing politics as it goes and happens in front of you is really exciting and really eyeopening but it, for me, is not an effective way of promoting justice. For me, creating a just society is by working with the community, for the marginalized, and abiding by those that are oppressed in society. Our government, especially the current structure of it is extremely oppressive and not a conducive place for affecting change and policy. Whether that be the bureaucracy, the executive branch, or the politicians that work for it. I know in my heart and from my experiences that creating a just society is not going to be effective by working with an oppressive institution. My experiences and the office of Congressman Mark DeSaulnier were unforgettable and it was the opportunity of a lifetime--but It is not something that I would go back too.