Internship at the Capitol

Like most college students I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up so I decided to get an internship this fall semester to help me figure it out.  I’m currently a marketing major in the business school, but hat wasn’t an easy decision for me. When applying to schools I was debating between education, business and now most recently law school. I thought that by getting an internship at the Texas State Capital, It could help me figure out if I truly like law and government. I interviewed last march and was offered and internship in Representative Tan Parker's office. He is the State Representative for Denton County.

            With the next Legislative Session starting in January, the office is starting its preparation. Constituent calls, mail, and email picks up as the citizens in Representative Parker's district start voicing what they want accomplished this coming session. A lot of my job is responding to these constituents and letting them know that the representative truly does want to do what’s best for his district and the state. We respond to every letter, email, or phone call that the Representative receives, which you could imagine takes a lot of work and time.

            Another part of my job is doing research. Many times I’m asked to do research on certain bills or issues that constituents are concerned about. Representative Parker is on the board of corrections, which I personally find very interesting. I’ve been able to speak with ex-prison wardens and majors about their concerns, complaints, or support for Representative Parker's work. The office also gets a lot of what we call “jail mail” or letters from people in prison requesting appeals, sending complaints or simply just sharing their story. Being able to read those is truly and eye opening experience.

            The hardest part about my job stems from being out of state. I know that sounds silly but being from Chicago, I have absolutely no idea what issues are important or controversial here in Texas. Having to learn how the Texas State Government works while trying to learn the ropes of this new job was very challenging. Another challenge I had was learning the lingo. Luckily I feel like I’ve learned pretty fast and am becoming a lot more efficient at the asks I’m asked to complete

            Although I still have no clue what I want to do when I grow up, this internship has proven to be a huge help. I’ve already improved my professional writing skills and communications skills and it’s only been a month and a half! All in all, I’ve really enjoyed my time so far interning at the capital. 

ZLAM,

Lindsey Schiff, PC '13