A Long Time Coming
by: Alicia Buenaventura
Wifi issues, Microsoft Teams glitches, disabled screen sharing…
“Sorry y’all, we’re having some technical difficulties, the congresswoman should hop on momentarily,” said Anna, our intern coordinator.
With my camera on and my notes in front of me, I waited with anticipation for Congresswoman Gwen Moore to join our group call. I feel grateful because congressional interns don’t always get the opportunity to meet their representative. Over the last eight weeks, us four interns researched a bill we think Rep. Moore should sponsor. We compiled our argumentation into a PowerPoint and ran through it several times before today.
With time to spare, I reflect on how much has changed in the last year. Spring of 2020 I knew very little about LGBTQ politics and the ins and outs of the legislative process. Frankly, I didn’t particularly see myself in politics until VCI came across my email when I was looking for internships. While delays and cancellations over this last year sucked, a silver lining was having Victory in my life (virtually) for longer than just a summer.
Through Victory I got close with my mentors, worked on a few campaigns, met a lot of important political leaders, and even had the opportunity to work on Victory’s staff as a development intern in spring 2021. I’m grateful for the experiences and skills I’ve gained, but above all else, I built confidence. Through community building and taking advice from leaders like me, confronting my impostor syndrome is definitely my most valuable takeaway from Victory. I’m leaving this summer with a sense of belonging in political work, new wind in my sails and ignited passion for working in the Capitol. Now I’m headed to Georgetown in the fall to get my Master’s of Public Policy, something I never could have imagined doing just over a year ago.
*Congresswoman Moore has entered the meeting*
I straightened up in my chair, half expecting our representative to be formal and politician-y (whatever that means). But Congresswoman Gwen Moore was anything but. She was funny, animated, and cracking jokes. After one of my talking points, she unmuted to say “Amen!” After our presentation, Representative Moore expressed how proud she was of us and how much she admired the bill and wanted to cosponsor it. She was excited she got to meet us too and told the staffers they should throw a party for us before we leave. The interns virtually high-fived before we closed the call, feeling so accomplished after all our hard work.
As my internship comes to a close next week, our meeting was an amazing way to finish off my year working with Victory. I’m so excited for this next chapter in my life, moving to DC next week. Of course, I’m still nervous, but I know that I’ll always have Victory in my corner.
Adjustment Period
by: Joey Medina
In many ways, I was not ready for what this internship had in store. In the span of just two weeks, I graduated college, left my friends and the home we’d made together, and said goodbye to my family to live hours away in a new time zone for two months. I have heard so many past interns describe the excitement they felt as they began their journeys, and I felt and continue to feel that rush of excitement every time I enter my office. But I also felt fear. Fear of failure, fear of new surroundings, fear of being a young gay brown man in a setting that could easily make me feel like an imposter. This fear needs to be recognized to be overcome, and for any new interns, I need you to know: this fear is normal.
I still feel nervous as I continue to learn new things about my position and the district I am working for every day. But as time has gone by I have steadily adjusted, I have grown to see all those things that once struck fear into me as obstacles I can now easily overcome. I have been so privileged to find others like me here on the Hill who not only relate to my identities but also to that awkward and often unsatisfactory adjustment period that plagued me in the first few weeks of my internship. It was through these incredible mentors that I was reminded of how I got here in the first place, how I earned my position in this internship. I was reminded that I am a truly exceptional person and that I deserve to be here.
Working in my congressional office has been life-changing in such amazing ways. For starters, the office of Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL-14) is staffed with some of the most amazing people you could ever meet. Individuals who understand how we can use our positions to advocate for the most marginalized members of society through uplifting not only the hardworking Kathy Castor but also the wonderful initiatives she introduces all the time. They welcomed me with open arms, and it is through them that I learned how much my voice and my passions matter on the Hill and how to use them in a way that helps others. Nykarlis, Rosario, Jhanavi, Britney, Zoe, Thomas, Megumi, Brooke, and Haley (and Jumble!), thank you. Whether it be showing me how to make it from Rayburn to Longworth, to making sure I understand what it means to be a Press intern for a Congressional office, you all helped me thrive. I know that I would not have grown into the more mature and capable person I am now if I hadn’t had you there supporting me.
It is normal to not immediately excel once you begin your Hill internship. It is understandable to have trouble adjusting, to feel emotional when you struggle in work and begin to doubt your place in this position. But I am lucky enough to be learning that this is exactly where I belong. And I hope other interns, current or prospective, understand that for themselves as well.
