I am interning on the Elizabeth Warren 2018 campaign in D.C. and so far I’m really enjoying the work I’ve been doing. To be completely honest, it has been a ton of work; I did not realize how intense campaigns are. I’m always tired out at the end of the day and I normally finish up around 6, almost everyone else I work with stays late. Sometimes I stay late but since I work two jobs everyone I work with understands when I have to leave or do some of my work from home.
I really love how everyone is so passionate about what they
do at Warren. The commitment is insane. After being exposed to campaign work and to the people who work there, I have realized it is absolutely not for everyone. It is really only for people who are so passionate about the candidate and the line of work. It’s incredibly to be surrounded by that type of energy.
My first week was so exciting but also intense. I had started doing my work remotely for the Warren campaign before I officially moved to D.C. and that mostly involved a lot of transcribing interviews because I had not been trained in anything else yet. I arrived in D.C. at the end of May
with about 2 weeks of remote work under my belt to an intimate office space located in D.C., I was immediately welcomed to the group and everyone was so kind. For the crazy amount of work the campaign does, I was shocked at how few people actually worked there. Truly, as I mentioned previously, the group who works there are the most efficient and dedicated people I have ever met. Watching them work is amazing, I feel like they get 5x more in a day than an average person does. It’s really inspiring actually.
My daily tasks vary; I’m constantly being trained on something new. Recently, I was trained on how to vet people who may potentially involve with the work we’re doing. Like people who host fundraisers for Warren, or potential employees. The best way to describe vetting is like super, in-depth, stalking. I have to look through all their social media and past donation and political history. It can be pretty interesting.
Further, I do a lot of transcribing of interviews and hearings, and then I bullet those transcriptions. I learn so much from having to go through all those interviews and hearings. I thought I was knowledgeable about politics but there is so much that happens behind the scenes that is not discussed on mainstream media sources. It’s crazy how many cool bills there are that I have to write about that I was previously not familiar with at all.
I am closest with my supervisor Kelly, who directly assigns me projects and provides me feedback. Kelly, like the majority of the people in the office is younger. They’re all so nice and exceptionally willing to help. Everyone is more than happy to talk with me and provide me insight and knowledge they’ve gained from working in politics. By the end of this summer I expect to be very versed in everything politics and Elizabeth Warren. I also think that I would be more than adequately prepared to work on a campaign or really in most political fields.
I think my work aligns closely with NCI’s mission because everything I’m doing is in someway helping an awesome, influential, female senator. Also, the work I’m doing is leveraging my career in politics and policy; I’m constantly learning so much and being trained on new things every day. This experience has given me the confidence and exposure to pursue a political career and I know with this under my belt I can get especially far and help make huge strides for women in the future.
Last summer I worked at a PAC (political action committee) called EMILY’s List (EL) in D.C., my internship at EMILY’s List played a huge role in me getting the research internship position on the Warren campaign. EMILY’s List works closely with many pro-choice, Democratic, female candidates. Elizabeth Warren has been endorsed by EL in past and therefor is connected with them. Last summer at EMILY’s List, I formed very close relationships with many of the staff members and it was actually a staff member from EMILY’s List who helped me get the Warren job. She had previously worked in Warren’s research department and connected me to people who currently work there.
I cannot emphasize the importance of networking enough. You can have a perfect
GPA, and a beautiful resume but get nowhere in the hiring process because you don’t know anyone on the inside. So many places get thousands of applicants and submitting cover letters and resumes onto online portals usually results in slim chances of getting the job. I have made a point to go out of my way to talk to as many people on the campaign as I can, and reach out to LinkedIn contacts to schedule informational interviews. Doing stuff like this has been insanely beneficial to me. Almost everyone is more than willing to help and often they’ll buy you lunch or coffee! It’s really a win-win situation.