Excerpts from Daily Log
May 14th “The Turkey briefing was today and it was the first briefing that I went to. The LA [legislative assistant] that handles foreign affairs was unable to attend so I went in her place… Before coming to D.C., I did not have much interest in foreign affairs but after being here only for a week and going to the Turkey briefing, I realized how important it is to be knowledgeable about other countries and current affairs. Our economy is tied so closely to other countries’ and what they do will affect us. I decided that I will make it a point to go to other briefings that deal with foreign relations.”
May 17th “Another congressman’s office requested assistance for a tour from our office… It is very difficult to keep 15 middle school children orderly. It is important to keep them together and to the right side of the hallways so that other people working in the Capitol can make their way through, this is especially important if there is a congressional vote going on and a congressman needs to get to the floor quickly. I am surprised at how many congressmen that I have seen in passing. They are fairly easy to pick out because they wear a pin on their jacket that says “110th.”
June 19th “I thought that today was the day that one of my one minutes [speech] would be read. However my one-minute was about coal to liquid fuel and the Congressman chose to focus on nuclear power sources. So, I will begin working on new information about nuclear power. Our Congressman has proposed an amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill to increase the Nuclear Power 2010 account. When the Congressman gave his speech about the amendment to the bill on the House floor, we had numerous offices calling in to request information about his amendment…”
Excerpts from Internship Paper
“First, to understand the Congressman’s voting records one must examine whom he is representing. The district 6 area is a fairly compound and was not particularly subject to gerrymandering. This usually means that the voters in the district, being from a similar region, tend to have more in common, share common interests, and are easier to represent. District 6 is primarily composed of Gainesville, Ocala, Jacksonville, Green Cove Springs, Alachua, and Archer. The residents of this area seem to be predominately focused on issues concerning veterans’ affairs, the right to carry arms, healthcare, helping small businesses, and many are religion and predominately pro-life. The Congressman understands what is important to his constituents, embraces it, and embodies it. He is the Deputy Ranking Republican member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and is even a veteran himself.”
Excerpts from Internship Paper
“My daily routine in the early part of my internship consisted of regular secretarial duties. Towards the middle and end of my internship, however, I began to do more and more actual work for the firm. My days became full of paperwork and electronic forms which I filled out for random cases and clients. The bulk of this was interactive immigration forms which I filled out using Adobe Acrobat. The work was extremely boring and tedious, and the only part of those days which I enjoyed were when I was able to get away from the computer to do anything else. Even checking the mail was an enjoyable part of my day, as I was able to leave the office for a few minutes. Litowitz’s reference to “rituals” that lawyers perform daily just to get their mind of work became apparent to me in my own behavior… I’m glad I was……getting real life experience at a small firm. I realize that that is the atmosphere I want when I leave law school. I’d rather get experience at a small firm immediately following law school, and open my own practice once I have a few years of experience and a sufficient knowledge base. I also plan to receive my MBA while attending law school, as crazy as that may seem in light of what I’ve been reading about the difficulty of law school. I hope that this opens more avenues for me after graduation, as now I do have a slight doubt that the legal profession is right for me.”