Blog 3: Growth

Blog 3: Growth

6/27/2019

With our first month at our placements done, I’ve been thinking about the growth that I’ve seen from myself in this short amount of time.  Taking risks and stepping out of your comfort zone always leads to growth, but I wasn’t sure what kind of growth to expect. I was already self-sufficient, cooking all my meals, doing laundry, even chairing committees at church giving me a pretty robust sense of self.  Now I see myself handling tasks I never would have thought I had the knowledge or authority for.  Today we spent the day campaigning on the Hill and by the end of the day I was speaking in meetings, giving bios for my placement and explaining why we were in favor of certain bills. 

This last month has caused me to have more confidence in myself.  Last week when we first started going to meet with staff on the Hill, I was completely silent, just an extra body in the room.  I’ve always been educated on a host of different topics just based on interest or school, but the attention to detail and narrowed range of issues that we focus on at my placement really give me the opportunity to learn them in depth, allowing me to not only retain the knowledge, but explain and disseminate it with others in a professional manner.  Everyone has bias on every topic they come into contact with and it can be hard to put that bias on the back burner in order to represent your organization in the most favorable way, but I feel like I’m learning diplomacy and strategy.  Today alone we covered, helpful wording, what to avoid, how to appeal to different people based on their contingency and the needs of their state, it’s a practicum for political science wrapped up in an environmental lens. 

I can’t wait to see what growth the next month holds for me.  I will not be returning home the same person I was when I came and I’m so excited to implement the things I’ve learned and will learn in my everyday life once me time in DC has ended this summer. 

-Helen S.