Case study: A congressman's intern

Gregory Church took an internship in the Washington D.C. office of US Congressman Ben Ray Lujan (New Mexico’s Third Congressional District), a member of the US House of Representatives. He helped liaise with the Congressman’s district offices, drafted letters to go out to constituents, researched particular subjects to help the legislative aides and assisted in updating the Congressman’s website. Gregory helped communicate with constituents during the healthcare legislation, one of the most important political advancements in the US in 40 years.

Gregory felt that the internship demonstrated his ability to bridge cultural differences and to work effectively in unfamiliar circumstances.

Congressional internships are extremely competitive to get so just gaining my internship shows that I clearly have desirable skills.

The internships are also fast paced and a lot is expected of each intern. The skills I developed are ones that UK employers are looking out for; I developed the ability to balance multiple tasks and projects.

I now know that I would like to work in US politics, at least for a few years, and this has led to me gaining an internship over the summer of 2010 to work on a Congressman’s campaign for Senate in New Hampshire.

I became more confident – having to deal with angry calls from constituents who disagreed with the Congressman’s political stances developed my skills to deal with awkward ‘customers’.

I gained a real insight into how the US political system actually operates – one that I feel you cannot gain through study alone.

Think about trying a job that takes you out of your comfort zone. At first I wasn’t sure whether the Congressional Internship was the right thing for me, but it has turned out to be the best thing that I have ever done.
Gregory Church