My time at EMILY’s List went by so quickly! I had such an incredible experience and learned so much. Truly everything I did aligned with my learning objectives in some way. I constantly stepped beyond my comfort zone with everything I did. I was constantly putting myself in situations I knew nothing about and making it work. From little things like cooking fish to creating pivot tables that accurately summarize a donor’s giving history. I tried doing all kinds of new things and in return made many new friends and developed so many new skills.
Along with learning all those new skills I also learned so much about the political realm that I didn’t know before. I am now so up to date on the political world and really enjoy having intellectual conversations regarding politics in the United States. I now feel that I can advocate more effectively for causes I care about primarily because I am so knowledgable in the field.
As I mentioned previously, during my time in D.C. and at EMILY’s List I formed so many incredible relationships. I made many great friends, got to talk to so many staff members and overall developed great connections for the future. The connections I made this summer will help me get such a wide variety of jobs in the future and are incredibly helpful in advising me. I’m excited that I now have such smart and experienced people in the political field that I can turn to if I ever have questions or need help getting a future job or internship!
I think my next step right now is deciding what I want to do for next summer and after graduation. I plan to build off my connections that I made in D.C. and off the skill set that I acquired. I am already in the process of exploring potential options and reaching out to some of my friends and staff members that I created good relationships with in order to help me decide exactly what direction I want to advance in. I plan to capitalize on this experience during my time at Tulane by using my classes and general involvement to hone in on the skills I began to work and learn at EMILY’s List. Working at EMILY’s List and talking to a wide variety of people also gave me an idea for what skills are most important to know, especially in the field I am interested in. So now at Tulane I will work to focus on classes I feel are the most useful in achieving my professional goals.
Now that I’ve completed my time at EMILY’s List I want to learn more about politics, especially in the foreign realm. I plan to keep up with everything domestic policy that I was previously following at EMILY’s List but I want to work to expand my knowledge of foreign affairs. I now want to take on more experiences working in politics but on a different side of things. I want to look more into jobs and internships on the policy side of things!
If someone was interested in working at EMILY’s List I would absolutely recommend that they reach out to me! In the field of politics, especially in D.C., connections are your best friend. That’s how I got the position and how many of my friends did as well.