First Day on the Job!

Today was frightening, fun, and finicky, but I got through it!  And I'm optimistic that I'll get the hang of interning in a jiffy.  Hopefully...


To get into the buildings, you have to go through a security check like at the airport, complete with the conveyer belt that scans purses and coats and the metal detector and wand.

I pass the screening and go through the halls to my office, (Rayburn Building, office #2329, if you wanna stop by!) but the building is oddly shaped and I keep getting lost in the corridors and there are so many exits and I always go out a different one. (Always meaning ALL 2 TIMES I went.  Ah, well.)  So then I meet the woman that hired me and the other intern who has been there previously so she knows her stuff.  I also met the Congresswoman!  She's super nice and I expected to be intimidated but I wasn't.  Good sign!

Then I had to read the intern handbook and learn how to answer emails, how to update constituent information in the system, how to answer calls, how to sort mail, and which staffers are in charge of what (which will be hardest to remember, for sure.  There's so many topics to know!)

Except maybe the phones, that's tricky too.  Firstly, they're SUPER hard to figure out and I accidently put this press guy on hold instead of transferring him, so that was embarrassing.  Secondly, there are some nasty, angry, uninformed people calling and complaining to you about whatever is plaguing their minds.  This one piece of work called in complaining about the Senate health bill, when our office really can't do anything about that since we're in the House!  Then, he called me a "Washington Fat Cat" and said, "You know, I'm sure you're a nice lady, but you know the taxpayers elected people like you Washingtonian elites and you're not delivering to the public!"  


We're not allowed to talk back to constituents who call in, but I politely explained that I was just an intern and it was my first day, so really I had nothing to do with the bills and their impact on the public.  Ha.  Then he used that as an excuse to get doubly mad at the fact that he was talking to someone that was so low on the totem pole.  Luckily, I was able to keep my cool and just write his call up as "opinion expressed" and plug it into the computer system.


So it was quite a rush, and I'm excited to continue and maybe one day be a good intern!  Needless to say, this will all make me super busy in the coming days, weeks, and months.  Makes one think I'll have less time for GW blogging...  We'll see.


Really though, keep the emails coming!  shireens@gwmail.gwu.edu
<3 Shireen