Office of U.S. Senator Cory Booker, Newark, NJ
This summer I interned for Senator Cory Booker in Newark, N.J. I first became aware of Cory Booker six years ago when he came to my middle school. At that time, he was only the Mayor of Newark, but I remember the charismatic connection he made with an auditorium full of awkward adolescents. On my first day of my internship, Senator Booker took the time to video chat with all the interns allowing us an opportunity to introduce ourselves. The same connection I felt those years ago in middle school reemerged when the Senator recounted how his high school and my high school were apparent football rivals. I was overjoyed when I mentioned that I was from Williams, and he replied by saying that he loved our “little college” when he spoke at commencement years ago. This brief interaction with Senator Booker reaffirmed my excitement in working for a politician I sincerely believe is a good person.
Most people probably know Senator Booker from his current 2020 Democratic campaign for the United States presidency. My internship was in his official Senate office, which is prohibited from having any contact with the campaign. One of the main responsibilities as an intern was to answer phones. Calls would range from local constituents hoping to convey their opinions, to people from out-of-state spewing unfounded vitriol. Along with recording people’s concerns, my main priority was to help constituents maneuver through federal bureaucracy. This casework process is important as it enables citizens to exercise their first amendment right to petition our government. Being involved with casework allowed me to help people solve their problems, which ended up being the most rewarding aspect of my internship experience.
Along with managing casework, my other primary responsibility was to write memos for constituent advocates—coworkers in the office who specialize in different political areas such as law enforcement, economics, immigration, or student debt. I would be assigned different topics to research, eventually distilling that topic down in to a three to five page memo which would summarize my findings. The advocate for whom I wrote memos encouraged that I analyze what I was researching, and not just summarize what I had found. Injecting my opinion into memos made writing them interesting, as I had to propose possible legislative action that Senator Booker could take to improve the problems brought forth in my memo. One of the most interesting memos which I wrote concerned the current state of women-owned businesses in our economy. Every year American Express produces a report which details statistics about women-owned firms. I had to analyze this report and find legislation that Senator Booker could support to increase economic opportunity for women. Another memo I prepared analyzed a recent lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Attorney General against the IRS and Treasury Department for removing an important charity deduction from constituents’ taxes. Reading the lawsuit and summarizing the important legalese into a thoughtful argument was a challenge, but ultimately was an engaging and rewarding experience.
Learning to better interact with constituents on the phone and improving my analytical skills via memo writing were beneficial learning experiences. However, the most transformative event occurred when members from the ATF came into the office to talk with us. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice. Their main priority is to regulate firearms. I was unaware of ATF’s existence before this meeting, but after chatting one-on-one with an ATF special agent for over an hour, it is an experience that I will never forget. The agent summarized his interesting career from working undercover in Miami, to investigating violent crimes with the NYPD. What sticks out in my mind is him explaining his switch from a career as a lawyer to one in law enforcement. He said that he never dreaded going to work at the ATF, and that every day was interesting. I had never previously considered a career in law enforcement, but the agent’s passion for his job sparked an interest in a field I had previously not considered. I want to eventually have a career where I can directly help people. This was a primary motivation for why I interned for Senator Booker. Learning about other government jobs that help people is an important take away from my internship, as it will help guide me in my future career aspirations.
Although office culture took some getting used to, the people I worked with were passionate about using their job to help others. I could always ask someone for assistance, if I was struggling to complete a simple administrative task. After writing memos, I was able to discuss what I researched and receive feedback regarding how to structure my argument better. Along with interacting with the amazing staff at Senator Booker’s office, I worked with four other talented interns. I am very grateful for the strong relationships that emerged from working with the Booker Intern Team.
My internship was sponsored by Dr. James D. Marver ’72. Without his generosity this transformative internship experience would not have been possible, and for that I cannot thank him enough. I would also like to thank the ’68 Center for Career Exploration and Dawn Dellea for organizing an amazing program, which has helped me and so many other students explore and achieve their career goals.