OUT ON THE HILL is the official blog of the Victory Congressional Interns. Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of LGBTQ+ Victory Institute. Learn more about the internship at victoryinstitute.org/vci.
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More often than not, we get caught up in our own heads— we assume the worst.
After my journey on the hill, I’ve learned to navigate interactions with empathy and compassion and you should, too.
This isn’t my first time on the hill, or even in public service for that matter. I’ve had the honor of interning for state and federal officials. I would be lying to say the responsibilities aren’t difficult.
As interns, our role is to best ensure our staff can maintain a well-functioning office that best serves its firm’s objectives.
As Congressional interns, our role becomes increasingly more intimate— we become a liaison and voice for constituents on calls, via email, and in person. Constituents are the heartbeat of many Congressional offices. The local community’s input serves as a direction for the staff and Congressmember to represent their voice on the House or Senate floor. It was my job this summer to ensure the flow of feedback was constant, clear, and communicated to the Congressmember and the team at large.
Sometimes folks confront Congressional Offices with anger, throwing expletives and personal attacks our way. This doesn’t happen in isolation, but after discussion with many hillterns, it’s a common theme.
In collective concern after that first tough call— many question— How can I navigate this going forward?
Here’s what I learned.
It’s not personal.
Often callers on the other end of the line aren’t situated in the community the Congress Member represents. Whether folks have read about the official in the Times or saw them on national TV. For some, the official’s DC office is the direct line to air frustrations. What I remember is that the person on the other line wants a voice. They want their concerns to be heard regardless of how they attempt to get it across. We are a liaison— it’s our mission to represent best what callers, constituents specifically, want. In ask and relay— there is no room for personal conviction. And although separating our beliefs may be difficult— it’s necessary to be that voice and not my own.
There’s good reason to be angry.
It’s important to recognize that not taking things personally isn’t a removal of one’s empathy. Even if we have great kin to our official, sometimes frustration isn’t directed at the official, but a larger inability to have their issue resolved in our federal government. With Representatives advocating for— on average 760,000+ constituents, and Senators averaging millions more, Congressional offices and the federal government at large handle individual requests for help at a slow pace. With constituent’s concerns— they’re pressing. They rely— with the right expectation— on our offices to advocate on their behalf with the federal agency they are having issues with. When previous constituents have worked hard to resolve the issue on their own— it’s a frustrating process to continue if an office is inundated with requests, sometimes understaffed, and usually already struggling to revive timely updates from non-responsive federal agencies. As I won’t delve into the policy-oriented conversation on the need to help federal agencies— you can imagine constituents’s frustration with the federal government.
Lean on your office.
And at the end of the day— your office is here to help. Be it a difficult call with a constituent or a long day of a monotonous, but still important task. Your congressional office is here to help. I was lucky to have been placed in an amazing congressional office. In regards to confrontations and similar to how other offices handle conflict, my office made clear lines in which we intake confrontation. As much as we separate our personhood and we understand the right to be angry at our federal government, there may be times to reach out to your intern coordinator.
As an LGBTQ+ Victory Institute intern— I entered this knowing full well that— at times my identity would be debated in legislation or I would have to be confident and unapologetic in my identity regardless of how people felt. In interactions with constituents— although it may be difficult and out of my comfort zone— I’ve learned the best ways to stay compassionate on the hill.
