I decided that I wanted to complete a summer placement at the end of my penultimate year to extend and improve both my employment prospects and experience and knowledge of this field of work. The opportunity to spend time in America was also a factor in my decision.
Through family or friends
My responsibilities have been relative to the task that I have been undertaking. When I have had the opportunity to shadow the Legislative Director Matt Biggs to meetings with Senators and Congressman on The Hill I have generally had to spend that time absorbing information and learning about the process, and thus my responsibilities have been limited. However, what came out of some meetings with Unions and Locals was surveys and data which I was then tasked with summarizing, and providing a concise, clear and effective reflection of 40 page documents was something I was responsible for.
On a typical day I would accompany the Legislative Director and a Local that was in DC to meetings with Senators and Congressman and their staff on the hill, go to lunches with these locals, and usually attend similar meetings following lunch. I also had the opportunity to sit in on the AFL CIO legislative committee meeting, (American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organizations) where Union issues were discussed and debated.
One activity that stands out for me was the chance to attend a hearing and subsequent union meeting with a Judge who had been put on payed leave by the Chief Judge in the District pending reappointment, the judge who had been targeted had been the head of the Union for the Judges' and was being unfairly penalized because of his role in organizing the Judges' against corruption and bargaining for a better contract. My interest in Law made this particular day enjoyable and exciting.
American Government and the politics of the country is admittedly challenging and although I have taken a module in American History in my first year of University it took a couple of days to fully comprehend the system.
I developed my ability to absorb information quickly- sitting in on such a variety of meetings throughout my time in DC meant that I had to efficiently learn new things to understand and follow such meetings. Furthermore having to summarize statistical findings from surveys and produce a word document reflecting this was a new skill that I developed, since as a history student I am relatively unfamiliar with data.
It has strengthened my interest in Law.
Pursue opportunities wherever you can, even if they are unfamiliar and intimidating.
Form completed: 30 Jun 2017