These past few months have been an invaluable and irreplaceable time for me as a African-American Political Association Intern. From scanning files, to writing letters, to attending Fourth of July parades and to answering nerve-wracking phone calls, I now have an experience that is unique and special to myself.
Before I started working at Assemblywoman Julian Baker’s office, I was very apprehensive. The idea of working for the government – although exciting – was daunting to me. However, with each case I worked on, and with each phone call I received, I realized that each constituent was a puzzle piece of a bigger picture that was the 16th district. Every word, every detail, every person mattered to the work that we did. It wasn’t just the government I was working for anymore – I was also working for the people living down the street and also the people living in my community of the Bay Area. For the first time in my life, I understood what it really meant to give back to my community. It was truly an honor to have taken part of a program that allows each intern to take away something personal from his or her work.
