“What am I, the Intern?”
Due to my grandfather I have an obsession with politics and the news.
I read the news any chance I get. When I came back from Canada over New Years, the first thing I did when I had phone service was read the news. I have about five different news apps on my phone.
Like I said, obsessed.
Because of this, I was able to find an internship, making cold calls, calling supporters, and going to events, my first semester of college working for a campaign for governor for the New Hampshire gubernatorial race. Walt Havenstein was my savior.
I spent every free moment working. After class everyday I went to the headquarters and worked until 9 pm. One of my friends told me he never met someone who used work as an excuse to not do homework. I knew I couldn't take one day off, because I never knew if I would get an opportunity like this again and I was worried I would waste it. Plus I knew it would be over before I blinked.
It was exhausting but exhilarating.
I met so many incredible people who I still keep in touch with. I know for some of the campaign workers it was just a job, but for most it was a foot in the door for politics. It was a wonderland for me. It was a place for me to talk about the news, I was asked daily about the news that occurred while I was in class. I learned so many new things about politics. I was able to flourish in this environment.
I met John McCain briefly, Scott Brown, and Marilinda Garcia. I got a picture with Kelly Ayotte, and I got a selfie with Chris Christie, my favorite politician ever. It was better than Christmas for me and I don’t care how big my grin was, it was incredible. I got to work in the war room on election day, where I got to sit and help tally the results of each town as they came in. I even got a badge with my name on it. The head of the campaign told me I got to sit in compared to someone else, because I am “diligent, quiet, and won’t talk to anyone on the outside.” This was big news, because the guy who told me this, had a tendency to yell at my boss and his coworkers a lot. So the war room was big news and a big deal for an intern like me to work in.
One of my friends on the campaign joked and said I was now higher up than he was, since he was only allowed to guard the door to make sure no one got in and saw the results, while I was actually in there. He told me I was the luckiest intern ever for being given so much power and inside knowledge. He even tried to get me to tell him the results before they even came in.
I could barely hide the grin I had for the election party, even though Walt didn’t win. He may have lost the election, but I gained so many friends, knowledge, a bigger passion for politics, and the confirmation that this is what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing.
The night before election day, November 4th, I stayed up until 3:00 am and put up Walt Havenstein signs with my boss around different polling areas. I asked to help and the guys were surprised I was willing to help that late. They didn’t think I would want to, but they gladly let me tag along.
I also went to sign waving rallies for the two big debate nights and stood in the rain and snow while talking to volunteers about school and politics. I was even interviewed for a Marilinda Garcia debate when I was at a sign wave.
I had so much fun, meeting new people and having a new experience and being able to put on my resume I had an internship under my belt as a first semester freshman.
The last time I spent in the office, I remember a few of the guys had found out I was only eighteen at the time. They told me they thought I was a junior in college or in graduate school.
I think I can shelve my internship as one of the best times of my life, especially because it was my first real experience in politics and because as an intern I wasn't really an intern. I never did grunt work. I did everything I wanted to do and more.
To sum up my time working on the campaign, I remember walking out of the office for the last time, and being asked to help carry some last things out by my friend. I remember responding sarcastically, “What am I, the intern or something?”
