Brielle was a congressional intern for Congressman Mike Simpson during Spring Term 2023.
Briefly explain what you did and the result of your internship.
I was tasked with a lot of administrative work such as scheduling White House and Capitol tours, shipping flags, running errands for the office. Additionally, I would shadow Leg teams in meetings and help them research bills or write form letters. I feel like I was able to help my leg teams, but I wish they would've given me more substantive tasks.
What did you learn on your internship that you were not expecting to learn?
I did a lot more networking than I was expecting. The Capitol provides many different lectures for summer interns and I had the opportunity to meet with many different staff members from different offices, areas of work, and political backgrounds. I learned a lot about building relationships and working with others.
How have your future plans changed because of what you learned from your internship experience?
Working on the Hill made me not want to work here. It affirmed my aspiration of attending law school. The speakers that we had brought into class from Professor Mecham really made me want to be an attorney for some government organization such as the CIA. I would love to live in Washington DC after I graduate, but I want to be a lawyer not a legislative assistant.
Please share how your experience led to personal inspiration or insightful revelation.
Being in Washington DC really made me stressed about where I am in life, because everyone seems like they have their life all together and I don't feel that way. Being here gave me a lot of motivation about my future and new ideas about what I want to do with my life.
Would you recommend this internship to other students?
I would definitely recommend doing an internship in Washington DC. Hill internships are very different than what I expected. I had many friends that didn't really do anything besides give capitol tours. If I had to do it all again, I would've applied to different internships like at law firms or different associations. I really enjoyed my time on the hill, but every office is different and so just be prepared to know what your job will be before you accept it. The Washington Seminar, while it has it's quirks, was a really great way to meet people and live out here. I have made life-long friends and had many different opportunities I wouldn't have had otherwise. As hot and humid as it is, I'm so glad I was here in the summer, because there's so many more events for interns on the hill and throughout different organizations. There's also different summer events and concerts in DC during the summer.
