I awoke this morning completely exhausted. Although I had slept for 7 hours I felt as if I had not slept a wink. Sadly, this set the tone for the entire day in the office; especially since I decided I did not want to grab a cup of coffee on the way in to work. What was I thinking!!!
Monday was a slow day in the office; partly due to my physical state. In the midst of session it is essential that our office keep contact with the individuals who inspired key pieces of legislation. Therefore, today I contacted a variety of individuals with regard to legislation to provide an update.
Too, although I had worked hard weeks prior to diminish the stack of newspapers on the back counter in the office; once again it had reappeared. I believe the newspapers although of minimal importance in terms of daily office activities must become an object of concern for a brief period on a daily basis unless I want to become overwhelmed every so often by the task.
Further, I worked on a series of constituent issues in an effort to decrease the overall workload for all in the office.
Tuesday was a brief day in the office for me as I had several errands to run before I left for Springfield that night. I took a half-day and left the office at one. Therefore I completed only basic tasks. Importantly, I began to look over and correct the letters which were to be sent out to primary winners and losers.
Wednesday I arrived in the Capitol at 8:30. The senator did not arrive into the office until near 10 a.m. He suggested I take a tour of the Capitol until he arrived; although having worked in the Capitol before I decided to relax at his front desk and wait patiently.
Since I had not been granted access as of Wednesday morning I worked in the senator's office on his MacBook . The senator asked that I create a spreadsheet which included all of his active substantive bills which were still in assignments. Therefore, the senator would be able to know which bills he would need to request be pushed out of assignments. Too, I made a few phone calls relative to constituent issues before he returned. Sadly, thereafter without computer access the remainder of the day I sat at his front desk, answered phones, and stared into the abyss.
Thursday too began with a delay. Once again I had arrived at 8:30 as asked but with no computer access I was not able to be productive. The senator arrived at 10 a.m. After a conversation with Toby of Senate communication staff, the senator had him bring me his MacBook so that I may be a productive member of staff. The senator and Toby exchanged brief words on the bureaucratic nature of the Senate.
With computer access, I finished checking the accuracy of the primary results letters and the senator signed them which enabled me to finally send them out. Thereafter, I worked on a spreadsheet of all agencies which offer forms of help to constituents in Champaign County. In addition, I answered phones, and served as first point of contact for those wishing to meet with the senator.
Friday the senator and Laurie were in and out of the office. I finished correctly a few primary letters and prepped them to send. Too, I spent the majority of the day on a variety of constituent calls. I finished the day working on a few Saw You in the News mailings.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Sara Cline- February 26, 2010
Not much to report- did dppropriation request forms all week. The deadline for many Members' forms is today, so we have been working on that non-stop all week.
Next week's post will likely contain more.. I'll be lobbying on the Hill on Tuesday and should have a greater variety of projects that I am working on.
One exciting note- one of the associates just got back from 7 months in Afghanistan and is going to be writing a book about his expereince and asked me to help him do research for it!
Next week's post will likely contain more.. I'll be lobbying on the Hill on Tuesday and should have a greater variety of projects that I am working on.
One exciting note- one of the associates just got back from 7 months in Afghanistan and is going to be writing a book about his expereince and asked me to help him do research for it!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Almost 2 months at AIA
This is a late post, and will likely be a short one as well. Last week was mostly spent finalizing the course outline for the EMTPJ project, for it was sent out at the beginning of this week to all of the collaborating mediation centers.
I have registed myself for several conferences in Belgium related to international law, which I will attend on behalf of AIA for networking purposes. This I like, for I have the opportunity to escape the confines of the office and socialize. I am confident I will be able to say very nice things about AIA as well.
Mr. Billiet, the president of AIA, will be a panel judge at an ELSA Moot Competition in Leuven next month, and so I have been helping him to look over the case material and familiarize himself with the issues. I have also begun writing a speech for him to deliver during the opening ceremonies.
I have been spending a lot of time looking for sponsors for our ongoing projects, as well as inviting speakers to our conference on UNCITRAL in June. The March newsletter is due next week as well, so I have been editing the external submissions and putting togerh my own articles for the publication. Finally, Mr. Billiet has asked that I write an article for Corporate International Magazine on international arbitration. That is all for now. I promise a more detailed, and perhaps more colorful entry next week.
I have registed myself for several conferences in Belgium related to international law, which I will attend on behalf of AIA for networking purposes. This I like, for I have the opportunity to escape the confines of the office and socialize. I am confident I will be able to say very nice things about AIA as well.
Mr. Billiet, the president of AIA, will be a panel judge at an ELSA Moot Competition in Leuven next month, and so I have been helping him to look over the case material and familiarize himself with the issues. I have also begun writing a speech for him to deliver during the opening ceremonies.
I have been spending a lot of time looking for sponsors for our ongoing projects, as well as inviting speakers to our conference on UNCITRAL in June. The March newsletter is due next week as well, so I have been editing the external submissions and putting togerh my own articles for the publication. Finally, Mr. Billiet has asked that I write an article for Corporate International Magazine on international arbitration. That is all for now. I promise a more detailed, and perhaps more colorful entry next week.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Week 3 at the icd
Last week was a great week. On Monday I was permanently assigned to work on the news team, which is what I wanted. The news team tends to get the more interesting and relevant work, so I’m glad to get to continue to be working with them.
I also had my first case study approved, which means I will be starting my own research project this week. My topic is the role of cultural exchange in the development of democratic institutions in the United Nations. I had my first interview for the study on Thursday with Andreas Bummel, founding director of the Committee for a Democratic United Nations and head of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly. The interview was over the phone since he was out of Berlin, but it lasted around a half hour and went really well. I was surprised by how much I actually liked conducting interviews. It is like a game that you play trying to get the interviewee to say what you want them to. However, since the interview was over the phone I’ve been having a really hard time transcribing it from the Dictaphone, as it’s hard to make out exactly what is being said through the static. I’m hoping to get the interview transcribed and a tentative outline of my project written up by the end of next week. I also managed to write two other proposals for case studies this week, although I think I might wait until I’m finished with the current one before I try to get them approved.
There was also a conference this week at the icd on cooperation between Latin America and Europe. I thought that this topic sounded interesting so I went to see one of the speakers only to find out that they were speaking Spanish, which was a bummer. I did, however, get to cover events taking place at the European Commission office in Berlin and the Bundestag (German Parliament). At the EU Commission I was covering a speech by Dr. Ulrich Brückner, a Stanford professor working for Team Europe, a group that works to educate the world on the role of the European Union. Following this speech we went to the Reichstag, where we heard another speech and got a chance to tour the Reichstag building. This was something that was on my list of “tourist” things to do, so it was nice to be able to do it during work, which also allowed me to skip the lines.
The rest of the week was spent writing the academic report on the Berlin International Economic Conference. This is interesting work, but requires a lot of time spent watching video footage from speeches and even more time spent rummaging through old notes trying to find particular information. Hopefully we will be able to get it published in the near future, if our boss is ever able to decide exactly which format he wants it to be in. That’s all for this week. Tschüss aus Berlin.
I also had my first case study approved, which means I will be starting my own research project this week. My topic is the role of cultural exchange in the development of democratic institutions in the United Nations. I had my first interview for the study on Thursday with Andreas Bummel, founding director of the Committee for a Democratic United Nations and head of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly. The interview was over the phone since he was out of Berlin, but it lasted around a half hour and went really well. I was surprised by how much I actually liked conducting interviews. It is like a game that you play trying to get the interviewee to say what you want them to. However, since the interview was over the phone I’ve been having a really hard time transcribing it from the Dictaphone, as it’s hard to make out exactly what is being said through the static. I’m hoping to get the interview transcribed and a tentative outline of my project written up by the end of next week. I also managed to write two other proposals for case studies this week, although I think I might wait until I’m finished with the current one before I try to get them approved.
There was also a conference this week at the icd on cooperation between Latin America and Europe. I thought that this topic sounded interesting so I went to see one of the speakers only to find out that they were speaking Spanish, which was a bummer. I did, however, get to cover events taking place at the European Commission office in Berlin and the Bundestag (German Parliament). At the EU Commission I was covering a speech by Dr. Ulrich Brückner, a Stanford professor working for Team Europe, a group that works to educate the world on the role of the European Union. Following this speech we went to the Reichstag, where we heard another speech and got a chance to tour the Reichstag building. This was something that was on my list of “tourist” things to do, so it was nice to be able to do it during work, which also allowed me to skip the lines.
The rest of the week was spent writing the academic report on the Berlin International Economic Conference. This is interesting work, but requires a lot of time spent watching video footage from speeches and even more time spent rummaging through old notes trying to find particular information. Hopefully we will be able to get it published in the near future, if our boss is ever able to decide exactly which format he wants it to be in. That’s all for this week. Tschüss aus Berlin.
February 8th-19th with the Treasurer
The week of February 8th was the first full on back for state legislators after the primary. The House was back in Session on Wednesday last week, but little was accomplished while the Representatives were here. The Senate came back into Session on Monday night but it was mainly a formality as nothing was really done and they adjourned around 5:30. However, from what I have gathered, bringing the Senate in Monday night, just like having the Represenatives come back last week, is what normally happens to bring the legislators back into "legistlative mode" versus being in thier districts or campaigning more recently. Most of Monday was spent reviewing the week ahead (committee hearings scheduled mainly) and reading legislation that is continually being proposed.
On Tuesday both the House and the Senate were back in Session. Our legislative team has divided up to take care of the House and the Senate. Sheleda and I are responsible for most activities in the House and Brittany, the other intern in the office, and John deal mainly with the Senate. While it would be nice to have a little more exposure with both, dividing up responsibilities by chamber makes our office much more efficient. This way we don't always have to decide who is listening to what chamber on what day, who is going to what committee hearing, etc. I therefore listen to the House whenever they are in session. They did not do much on Tuesday because many had just arrived in town. There were committee hearings scheduled for that afternoon but many we had interest in were cancelled.
From what I have figured out so far, Wednesday seems to be the busiest in the Capitol. Legislators usually arrive in town on Tuesday and leave on Thursday so those days have tended to be a little slower because of the traveling. Wednesdays, however, have so far been packed with committee hearings and session tends to run the longest on those days. Some people may find listening to legislators discuss various issues absolutely boring but I really like listening to them. Many offices in the capitol are set up with speakers so you can hear either the House or the Senate while they are in Session without having to go to the chamber to listen. This is nice because I can look up a bill while they are discussing it to find more detail or if they are discussing a bill that is not any particular importance to our office I can work on something else at my desk. Wednesday was a very exciting day to listen to the House. The Republicans introduced a bill that would require the legislature to implement PAYGO budgeting (Nothing can be written in appropriations without first specifying where the money was going to come from- President Obama actually mentioned this in his State of the Union address to be implemented on the federal level.) However, the Speaker of the House (who chairs the Rules committee) refused to assign the bill to another committee. By keeping the bill in Rules it is essentially dead. When this happens, the member who propsed the bill can make a motion to have the bill released from rules. This however requires approval of the Majority leader, which seldom happens. The representative then called for a role call vote after many of the Republican members stood up to advocate the motion. I really enjoyed listening to the Republicans speak and hear how frustrated they are that bills like the one being discussed often fail to come out of Rules. It makes you realize how much politics can impede the legislative process. Passing a bill is often a long and tedious process to begin with, but adding politics into the process only makes it that much more difficult.
Thursday was another busy day in the office. The legislature was finished fairly early in the afternoon so legislators could drive home, but Friday and the coming Monday were both state holidays so we had to have everything ready to go for the next week, as we would only have a little time before the legislature was back in session on Tuesday.
After the long four day weekend, Tuesday the 16th started right away being extremely busy. The Legislature was due to be in Session at noon but there were many things to be taken care of first. Session did not last too long in either chamber but the afternoon was filled with committee hearings. I also lobbied Senators for the first time!! A bill that is an initiative of the Treasurer's office was going to be in committee on Wednesday afternoon and Colleen (my boss) wanted to make sure our bill had the support of the committee members. There were plans to originally have Brittany and I go with one of the staff members to observe how they lobbied a legislator before we went on our own, but in the craziness of the day that never happened and we ended up splitting up the committee members and going on our own. I went to the offices of four senators and two were in their offices that I was able to speak with (Considering that there were many committee hearings scheduled for the afternoon I thought seeing two of them wasn't too bad.) I was a little nervous before speaking with them but they were both extremely polite and listened to what I had to say before voicing their support. I was happy it worked out well!
Wendesday was likely the craziest day of Session I have experienced thus far. First, the Treasurer had a letter to send to every member of the General Assembly. I came in early knowing that this project was going to take a little bit of time and I had several other things I needed to take care of. I got started on the letter and then had to be in committee at 9:30. Unfortunately the committee was running late and they did not call the bill I was there to hear, but that happens. I also had to speak to the Senator from my home district at some point that morning because our office was hoping he would agree to co-sponsor the legislation I had been lobbying on Tuesday and I volunteered to speak with him. Before being a Senator, he was a teacher and coach at my former high school. He knows my dad (as he was a student of the Senator many years ago) and has always been very helpful to me whenever I have asked for assistance in the past. I had dropped off an analysis of the bill and my card in his office Tuesday and when I talked to him late that afternoon he asked me to come by Wednesday morning. Unfortunately he was in leadership meeting that morning so it was hard for me to track him down. I thankfully recieved a call from him 15 minutes before he was expected in caucus and had the chance to speak with him. He was going to have his staff look at the bill but he said he was considering co-sponsoring it. Hopefully he agrees to!
One of the reasons the capitol was such a zoo on Wednesday had to do with the several thousand state employees that had come to the building to rally for a tax increase. They asked for an increase because they believe that an increase would prevent some state jobs from being lost. Adding several thousand people to the building makes it very hard to get around, especially on the one day you have to visit the offices of every member in the legislature to deliver a letter from the Treasurer. I had to make use of back stairways and elevators and at least I can say that it caused me to know my way around the Capitol a little better.
After delivering all of the letters, I came back to the office to listen to the House. Nothing of particular importance to our office happened, but they discussed some bills that generated a lot more discussion than I had expected.
While Wednesday in the Capitol was crazy, Thursday was almost the complete opposite. Even though the House and Senate still had session that morning, there simply wasn't much going on. The House argued a bill that would increase the penalty for persons convicted of heroin possession. While I didn't expect the bill to pass extremely quickly, there was still much more discussion about the bill than I had expected. Eventually the bill did pass though. Friday was busy taking care of any matters that had come up during the week and going through all the committee hearings posted for the following week to determine what hearings and bills the Treasurer's office was interested in.
On Tuesday both the House and the Senate were back in Session. Our legislative team has divided up to take care of the House and the Senate. Sheleda and I are responsible for most activities in the House and Brittany, the other intern in the office, and John deal mainly with the Senate. While it would be nice to have a little more exposure with both, dividing up responsibilities by chamber makes our office much more efficient. This way we don't always have to decide who is listening to what chamber on what day, who is going to what committee hearing, etc. I therefore listen to the House whenever they are in session. They did not do much on Tuesday because many had just arrived in town. There were committee hearings scheduled for that afternoon but many we had interest in were cancelled.
From what I have figured out so far, Wednesday seems to be the busiest in the Capitol. Legislators usually arrive in town on Tuesday and leave on Thursday so those days have tended to be a little slower because of the traveling. Wednesdays, however, have so far been packed with committee hearings and session tends to run the longest on those days. Some people may find listening to legislators discuss various issues absolutely boring but I really like listening to them. Many offices in the capitol are set up with speakers so you can hear either the House or the Senate while they are in Session without having to go to the chamber to listen. This is nice because I can look up a bill while they are discussing it to find more detail or if they are discussing a bill that is not any particular importance to our office I can work on something else at my desk. Wednesday was a very exciting day to listen to the House. The Republicans introduced a bill that would require the legislature to implement PAYGO budgeting (Nothing can be written in appropriations without first specifying where the money was going to come from- President Obama actually mentioned this in his State of the Union address to be implemented on the federal level.) However, the Speaker of the House (who chairs the Rules committee) refused to assign the bill to another committee. By keeping the bill in Rules it is essentially dead. When this happens, the member who propsed the bill can make a motion to have the bill released from rules. This however requires approval of the Majority leader, which seldom happens. The representative then called for a role call vote after many of the Republican members stood up to advocate the motion. I really enjoyed listening to the Republicans speak and hear how frustrated they are that bills like the one being discussed often fail to come out of Rules. It makes you realize how much politics can impede the legislative process. Passing a bill is often a long and tedious process to begin with, but adding politics into the process only makes it that much more difficult.
Thursday was another busy day in the office. The legislature was finished fairly early in the afternoon so legislators could drive home, but Friday and the coming Monday were both state holidays so we had to have everything ready to go for the next week, as we would only have a little time before the legislature was back in session on Tuesday.
After the long four day weekend, Tuesday the 16th started right away being extremely busy. The Legislature was due to be in Session at noon but there were many things to be taken care of first. Session did not last too long in either chamber but the afternoon was filled with committee hearings. I also lobbied Senators for the first time!! A bill that is an initiative of the Treasurer's office was going to be in committee on Wednesday afternoon and Colleen (my boss) wanted to make sure our bill had the support of the committee members. There were plans to originally have Brittany and I go with one of the staff members to observe how they lobbied a legislator before we went on our own, but in the craziness of the day that never happened and we ended up splitting up the committee members and going on our own. I went to the offices of four senators and two were in their offices that I was able to speak with (Considering that there were many committee hearings scheduled for the afternoon I thought seeing two of them wasn't too bad.) I was a little nervous before speaking with them but they were both extremely polite and listened to what I had to say before voicing their support. I was happy it worked out well!
Wendesday was likely the craziest day of Session I have experienced thus far. First, the Treasurer had a letter to send to every member of the General Assembly. I came in early knowing that this project was going to take a little bit of time and I had several other things I needed to take care of. I got started on the letter and then had to be in committee at 9:30. Unfortunately the committee was running late and they did not call the bill I was there to hear, but that happens. I also had to speak to the Senator from my home district at some point that morning because our office was hoping he would agree to co-sponsor the legislation I had been lobbying on Tuesday and I volunteered to speak with him. Before being a Senator, he was a teacher and coach at my former high school. He knows my dad (as he was a student of the Senator many years ago) and has always been very helpful to me whenever I have asked for assistance in the past. I had dropped off an analysis of the bill and my card in his office Tuesday and when I talked to him late that afternoon he asked me to come by Wednesday morning. Unfortunately he was in leadership meeting that morning so it was hard for me to track him down. I thankfully recieved a call from him 15 minutes before he was expected in caucus and had the chance to speak with him. He was going to have his staff look at the bill but he said he was considering co-sponsoring it. Hopefully he agrees to!
One of the reasons the capitol was such a zoo on Wednesday had to do with the several thousand state employees that had come to the building to rally for a tax increase. They asked for an increase because they believe that an increase would prevent some state jobs from being lost. Adding several thousand people to the building makes it very hard to get around, especially on the one day you have to visit the offices of every member in the legislature to deliver a letter from the Treasurer. I had to make use of back stairways and elevators and at least I can say that it caused me to know my way around the Capitol a little better.
After delivering all of the letters, I came back to the office to listen to the House. Nothing of particular importance to our office happened, but they discussed some bills that generated a lot more discussion than I had expected.
While Wednesday in the Capitol was crazy, Thursday was almost the complete opposite. Even though the House and Senate still had session that morning, there simply wasn't much going on. The House argued a bill that would increase the penalty for persons convicted of heroin possession. While I didn't expect the bill to pass extremely quickly, there was still much more discussion about the bill than I had expected. Eventually the bill did pass though. Friday was busy taking care of any matters that had come up during the week and going through all the committee hearings posted for the following week to determine what hearings and bills the Treasurer's office was interested in.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Senator Michael Frerichs Office Week Five
Monday February 15th, 2010:
Office Closed: Observance of Washington’s Birthday
Tuesday February 16th, 2010:
I finally received the write-up of the letters which the senator would like to be sent to the winners/losers of the recent primary election. Although this was meant to be a minor project, a series of obstacles have occurred which have made this task more difficult. First and foremost, I am not an expert at the creation of spreadsheets on Microsoft Excel; however, at the end of this residency, at the current rate I expect to be.
The senator has drafted four different letters in which thanks those who ran in the recent primary election (democrat winners, democrat losers etc.) Since the letters were already written my main task was to type these into a Word document. Upon completion, I proceeded to begin a mail merge which utilized the different spreadsheets I had created. I continued to work on the project and ultimately printed the letters. I even printed out the corresponding envelopes and prepped them with stamps. Although it may appear this task may not take a substantial amount of time, if I couple this with my other responsibilities of answering phones, sorting mail etc. I had quite a busy day.
Near the end of the day, I filled the remainder of my time with cutting out articles and photos for the senator’s Saw You in the News effort.
Wednesday February 17th, 2010:
The office was quiet today, minus the noise created by a few other interns around the office. The mountain of newspapers was bound to crumble. I was to mount a historic effort to clip all articles related to constituents of the district, laminate, address, and send. Sometimes the minor projects are the most fun. The motivation to overcome such a minor task can be overwhelming.
With the help of the other interns I was able to rid the back counter of the newspapers which had haunted our office since before Christmas. However, I assume the mass of newspapers which needed to be laminated was ultimately too much for the office laminating machine to handle as it jammed. It is ironic how companies now create products which cannot be fixed and must be replaced. Office Chief of Staff, Laurie was not happy as she had just ordered the laminator after another had broke just two months earlier; I guess $180.00 for a laminator does not buy quality these days.
So, the Saw You in the News effort was sidetracked. Yet, as I once again neared the end of another exciting day in the district office I continued to work on follow-up with potential legislation and constituent cases.
Thursday February 18th, 2010:
Today in the office was a major headache. I came into the office this morning and was told that the letters which I had printed off with regard to the primary election had numerous errors related to the overall results. I am a strong individual; yet I do not take constructive criticism that well. I was sure that I had typed all of the results correctly into the spreadsheet which I had composed. Unfortunately, the senator is out of the office today and this issue will be addressed at a later date.
Too, the Senator had called and requested that his Chief of Staff pull some correspondence related to a constituent letter which was classified as potential legislation. At first, the senator had stated that he was unaware of the details of the correspondence but the letter was from a student in St Joseph. Upon searching through my files, I had not come across any letter. Thereafter, he stated the letter was from a student in Royal. The follow-up call included the reference, “I know I gave this correspondence to Matthew”. Although I had scoured through my files it was not to be found.
What an awful start to the day.
In an effort to calm myself I spent the rest of the day working on a series of constituent cases of interest.
Friday February 19th, 2010:
The majority of today was spent with follow up on potential legislation contact and constituent cases.
Office Closed: Observance of Washington’s Birthday
Tuesday February 16th, 2010:
I finally received the write-up of the letters which the senator would like to be sent to the winners/losers of the recent primary election. Although this was meant to be a minor project, a series of obstacles have occurred which have made this task more difficult. First and foremost, I am not an expert at the creation of spreadsheets on Microsoft Excel; however, at the end of this residency, at the current rate I expect to be.
The senator has drafted four different letters in which thanks those who ran in the recent primary election (democrat winners, democrat losers etc.) Since the letters were already written my main task was to type these into a Word document. Upon completion, I proceeded to begin a mail merge which utilized the different spreadsheets I had created. I continued to work on the project and ultimately printed the letters. I even printed out the corresponding envelopes and prepped them with stamps. Although it may appear this task may not take a substantial amount of time, if I couple this with my other responsibilities of answering phones, sorting mail etc. I had quite a busy day.
Near the end of the day, I filled the remainder of my time with cutting out articles and photos for the senator’s Saw You in the News effort.
Wednesday February 17th, 2010:
The office was quiet today, minus the noise created by a few other interns around the office. The mountain of newspapers was bound to crumble. I was to mount a historic effort to clip all articles related to constituents of the district, laminate, address, and send. Sometimes the minor projects are the most fun. The motivation to overcome such a minor task can be overwhelming.
With the help of the other interns I was able to rid the back counter of the newspapers which had haunted our office since before Christmas. However, I assume the mass of newspapers which needed to be laminated was ultimately too much for the office laminating machine to handle as it jammed. It is ironic how companies now create products which cannot be fixed and must be replaced. Office Chief of Staff, Laurie was not happy as she had just ordered the laminator after another had broke just two months earlier; I guess $180.00 for a laminator does not buy quality these days.
So, the Saw You in the News effort was sidetracked. Yet, as I once again neared the end of another exciting day in the district office I continued to work on follow-up with potential legislation and constituent cases.
Thursday February 18th, 2010:
Today in the office was a major headache. I came into the office this morning and was told that the letters which I had printed off with regard to the primary election had numerous errors related to the overall results. I am a strong individual; yet I do not take constructive criticism that well. I was sure that I had typed all of the results correctly into the spreadsheet which I had composed. Unfortunately, the senator is out of the office today and this issue will be addressed at a later date.
Too, the Senator had called and requested that his Chief of Staff pull some correspondence related to a constituent letter which was classified as potential legislation. At first, the senator had stated that he was unaware of the details of the correspondence but the letter was from a student in St Joseph. Upon searching through my files, I had not come across any letter. Thereafter, he stated the letter was from a student in Royal. The follow-up call included the reference, “I know I gave this correspondence to Matthew”. Although I had scoured through my files it was not to be found.
What an awful start to the day.
In an effort to calm myself I spent the rest of the day working on a series of constituent cases of interest.
Friday February 19th, 2010:
The majority of today was spent with follow up on potential legislation contact and constituent cases.
Sara Cline- February 19, 2010
Finally back at work! I thought one snow day was nice, but having Tuesday be my first full day of work in a week and a half was more than I could handle!
This week, we conduced interviews for the three summer interns who will have the same position that I currently do. Although it doesn't tie in with politics or lobbying, it was an amazing experience. I think I may have previously mentioned looking through cover letters and resumes of the 100+ people who applied. Kevin, Jess, and I all looked through each resume and graded it, and then averaged the grades to determine who would get a phone interview. After reading so many, I have a very clear idea of what I do and do not like on a resume, which will be helpful next time I update mine, and of what makes a good cover letter.
On Tuesday and Wednesday nights we did phone interviews with the ten applicants. The experience was extremely valuable. First, since I made up some of the questions, I think I will have a better idea going into an interview of the kind of questions I should be preparred to answer. Also, in comparing the applicants, I picked out different traits that made some stand out more than others. Talking with Jess and Kevin after the interviews about who they thought would/wouldn't be good for the position gave me insight into what interviewees think about certain things. The final decision hasn't been made, but I am extremely happy I was able to participate in this process.
Other projects I worked on this week: higher education research (how much top 25 public schools spent on lobbying last year) and grant analysis. For the grant analysis, I looked at the TIGER grants and high speed rail grants to see where the money went. Kevin was particularly interested in how much of the money went to states with two D senators, two R senators, or a mix. In combining the two types of grants together, states with two R senators only received about 4% of the money!
Additionally, I am still helping Jess with appropriations forms (see post from two weeks ago for explaination). It is interesting to see all the aspects/information that goes into requesting money from a senator or rep. I know this is the busiest time of the year for the firm, so am more than willing to help with anything I can.
Next week, I am going to be accompanying Kevin to the Hill. Which will be great. We were supposed to last week, but were unable to because of the snow.
This week, we conduced interviews for the three summer interns who will have the same position that I currently do. Although it doesn't tie in with politics or lobbying, it was an amazing experience. I think I may have previously mentioned looking through cover letters and resumes of the 100+ people who applied. Kevin, Jess, and I all looked through each resume and graded it, and then averaged the grades to determine who would get a phone interview. After reading so many, I have a very clear idea of what I do and do not like on a resume, which will be helpful next time I update mine, and of what makes a good cover letter.
On Tuesday and Wednesday nights we did phone interviews with the ten applicants. The experience was extremely valuable. First, since I made up some of the questions, I think I will have a better idea going into an interview of the kind of questions I should be preparred to answer. Also, in comparing the applicants, I picked out different traits that made some stand out more than others. Talking with Jess and Kevin after the interviews about who they thought would/wouldn't be good for the position gave me insight into what interviewees think about certain things. The final decision hasn't been made, but I am extremely happy I was able to participate in this process.
Other projects I worked on this week: higher education research (how much top 25 public schools spent on lobbying last year) and grant analysis. For the grant analysis, I looked at the TIGER grants and high speed rail grants to see where the money went. Kevin was particularly interested in how much of the money went to states with two D senators, two R senators, or a mix. In combining the two types of grants together, states with two R senators only received about 4% of the money!
Additionally, I am still helping Jess with appropriations forms (see post from two weeks ago for explaination). It is interesting to see all the aspects/information that goes into requesting money from a senator or rep. I know this is the busiest time of the year for the firm, so am more than willing to help with anything I can.
Next week, I am going to be accompanying Kevin to the Hill. Which will be great. We were supposed to last week, but were unable to because of the snow.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Senator Frerichs-District Office Week Four
This week was relatively quiet in the office. I really hope the Senator comes to a decision regarding his Springfield office this next week. I have worked hard to make sure I am able to take on the position if offered. All minor issues which needed to be addressed related to the position have been taken care of. At this point, I need to sit back and await his decision. He is still thinking of hiring an individual to staff his Springfield office. However, he states he would like to have me in Springfield regardless to work on other issues which would need attention. I am confident all will come to a conclusion by the end of next week.
With the Senator out of the office all week the office was quiet. Throughout the week I decided to tidy up the office and close-loose ends on a variety of activities. Previous interns who no longer work for the office had a series of open constituent files. I went through the files comprised by the former interns and followed up with constituents by telephone and email in order to reach a conclusion regarding their specific requests. Once I had completed sorting through the material I began to work on a wide-variety of cases which still required our offices attention.
Serving the State Senator our office must not be biased in the way we approach constituent casework. All must receive the necessary attention. If an office accused of wrongdoing presents evidence in their favor we must take the time to sort through the information in an effort to clearly offer the constituent a conclusion whether or not it is positive. I state this because I had contacted a state organization earlier the previous week regarding material for a constituent case and information was dropped off to me this week and lacked what I had requested. Therefore, although the evidence brought to our attention seemed appropriate I placed a call once again to ask for the information I had specifically requested. Constituent work can be tough at times especially if individuals are difficult to deal with or expect an immediate response. However, the conclusion to constituent casework can be rewarding in many instances.
I also drafted a variety of letters to constituents regarding the state of their cases. Constituent cases can necessitate a lengthy process. The best one can do is be patient. I am excited for the short weekend which I have in the office next week. Too, all the minor activities of the office have been taken care of. Thus, I will have to strive to create work for myself this coming week which I believe will take the form of further work and investigation into constituent casework.
With the Senator out of the office all week the office was quiet. Throughout the week I decided to tidy up the office and close-loose ends on a variety of activities. Previous interns who no longer work for the office had a series of open constituent files. I went through the files comprised by the former interns and followed up with constituents by telephone and email in order to reach a conclusion regarding their specific requests. Once I had completed sorting through the material I began to work on a wide-variety of cases which still required our offices attention.
Serving the State Senator our office must not be biased in the way we approach constituent casework. All must receive the necessary attention. If an office accused of wrongdoing presents evidence in their favor we must take the time to sort through the information in an effort to clearly offer the constituent a conclusion whether or not it is positive. I state this because I had contacted a state organization earlier the previous week regarding material for a constituent case and information was dropped off to me this week and lacked what I had requested. Therefore, although the evidence brought to our attention seemed appropriate I placed a call once again to ask for the information I had specifically requested. Constituent work can be tough at times especially if individuals are difficult to deal with or expect an immediate response. However, the conclusion to constituent casework can be rewarding in many instances.
I also drafted a variety of letters to constituents regarding the state of their cases. Constituent cases can necessitate a lengthy process. The best one can do is be patient. I am excited for the short weekend which I have in the office next week. Too, all the minor activities of the office have been taken care of. Thus, I will have to strive to create work for myself this coming week which I believe will take the form of further work and investigation into constituent casework.
Senator Frerichs Dist Offic-Week Three
So, I have unfortunately laxed a bit in the past two weeks and now find myself catching up on late blog posts. Sorry! Anyways, election week was busy as it ought to be. Monday Laurie and I spent the day in the office continuing our work regarding research into potential legislation. The deadline for the introduction of Senate Bills is fastly approaching; however, many shell bills are proposed prior to deadline as spot-holders so to speak for the introduction of late legislation.
Of course, last Tuesday's focus was on the primary election and the results which followed. Fortunately, Senator Frerichs is an incumbent and in most cases this is a definite advantage. Prior to the results of the primary election, Senator Frerichs was running uncontested. However, a individual running as a write-in garnered enough votes in order to serve as his competition. I have had the privileged opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with the Senator in the first few weeks. Our office is extremely busy on a daily basis and spends a significant amount of time working on constituent issues. The Senator believes in serving his constituency to the best of his ability and in fact is quite available for meetings etc. for those in his constituency. Senator Frerichs is very excited to run against his opponent in the upcoming general election and believes citizens of his constituency deserve a choice.
Wednesday I was a slave to Excel. The majority I compiled a spreadsheet of the information of all individuals who ran in the primary election (Champaign and Vermillion County) in an effort to send out letters to all. Suprisingly, the information which I was seeking was readily available on the websites of the County Clerk's. The Senator wishes to send out letters to both Democrats and Republicans (winners and losers) with regard to the primary election.
Thursday and Friday I was searching for work to do in the office as it turned quiet. I was still waiting to hear back from some individuals which I had contacted regarding potential legislation. I decided to work on the enormous stack of papers in the back which had dated back to before Christmas. The Senator has articles cut out which have pictures, stories of those in his constituency cut out and laminated and then sent out as recognition.
.
I left early Friday to attend the CLP meeting
Of course, last Tuesday's focus was on the primary election and the results which followed. Fortunately, Senator Frerichs is an incumbent and in most cases this is a definite advantage. Prior to the results of the primary election, Senator Frerichs was running uncontested. However, a individual running as a write-in garnered enough votes in order to serve as his competition. I have had the privileged opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with the Senator in the first few weeks. Our office is extremely busy on a daily basis and spends a significant amount of time working on constituent issues. The Senator believes in serving his constituency to the best of his ability and in fact is quite available for meetings etc. for those in his constituency. Senator Frerichs is very excited to run against his opponent in the upcoming general election and believes citizens of his constituency deserve a choice.
Wednesday I was a slave to Excel. The majority I compiled a spreadsheet of the information of all individuals who ran in the primary election (Champaign and Vermillion County) in an effort to send out letters to all. Suprisingly, the information which I was seeking was readily available on the websites of the County Clerk's. The Senator wishes to send out letters to both Democrats and Republicans (winners and losers) with regard to the primary election.
Thursday and Friday I was searching for work to do in the office as it turned quiet. I was still waiting to hear back from some individuals which I had contacted regarding potential legislation. I decided to work on the enormous stack of papers in the back which had dated back to before Christmas. The Senator has articles cut out which have pictures, stories of those in his constituency cut out and laminated and then sent out as recognition.
.
I left early Friday to attend the CLP meeting
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Warsaw, and a short week at the office
The bulk of this week I was in Warsaw representing the AIA at a conference on multi-step dispute resolution, held at the University of Warsaw. When in fact Warsaw is quite close to Brussels and easy to get to by plane, I managed to extend my time there for practically three whole days. I suppose these negotiation skills I read about are rubbing off on me.
I am happy to report that the Conference went very well, and I am confident that I presented my speech coherently (and hopefully eloquently). I somewhat had the upper hand, for I was the only native English speaker on the panel and thus my speech was both longer and contained more material. I spoke about the practice of mediation in the US, which is actually where it first began. The topic was assigned to me, and while delivering my presentation I felt vaguely patriotic, as if I were representing my country and trying to sell our widsom. I surely didn't sound that way, but that's just how I sometime imagine such things. The only hard part was the question and answer session. The audience was a mix of international arbitrators and law students from central and eastern Europe. The students turned out to be the toughtest crowd. Their hungry minds forced them to interrogate me on every detail, both during the panel and even afterwards during the social banquet. They were much easier to deal with, however, when they had a glass of wine in their hands as opposed to a pen a paper.
My essay will be included in the conference publication, which is exciting. However, my co-panelist, an ancient Polish arbitrator who's both admired and poked fun at in the international legal world (probably for his deserved, casual arrogance), appraoched me after and told me he liked me speech so much he wants to publish it in the Polish Arbitration Bulletin. He is the editor of the magazine, which is entirely in Polish, and he said he would put mine in the March edition along with a brief summary in Polish. So, if you ever find yourself in Poland....
All in all it was an extraordinary experience. The law students were very welcoming during the banquet and were surprised when I told them my age. The following nights they helped me to "experience" Warsaw, which as I said in my previous post, is a really great city.
Friday I did my best to avoid the onslaught of the work that had been piling up during the week. I completed many small tasks and and prepared others for next week. With Warsaw behind me, I will now be working on wrapping up the EMTPJ project so that it can be advertised on the web in March, as well as organizing the UNCITRAL Conference for June. Still, I have an aching feeling something new and big will be thrown at me any day now.
I am happy to report that the Conference went very well, and I am confident that I presented my speech coherently (and hopefully eloquently). I somewhat had the upper hand, for I was the only native English speaker on the panel and thus my speech was both longer and contained more material. I spoke about the practice of mediation in the US, which is actually where it first began. The topic was assigned to me, and while delivering my presentation I felt vaguely patriotic, as if I were representing my country and trying to sell our widsom. I surely didn't sound that way, but that's just how I sometime imagine such things. The only hard part was the question and answer session. The audience was a mix of international arbitrators and law students from central and eastern Europe. The students turned out to be the toughtest crowd. Their hungry minds forced them to interrogate me on every detail, both during the panel and even afterwards during the social banquet. They were much easier to deal with, however, when they had a glass of wine in their hands as opposed to a pen a paper.
My essay will be included in the conference publication, which is exciting. However, my co-panelist, an ancient Polish arbitrator who's both admired and poked fun at in the international legal world (probably for his deserved, casual arrogance), appraoched me after and told me he liked me speech so much he wants to publish it in the Polish Arbitration Bulletin. He is the editor of the magazine, which is entirely in Polish, and he said he would put mine in the March edition along with a brief summary in Polish. So, if you ever find yourself in Poland....
All in all it was an extraordinary experience. The law students were very welcoming during the banquet and were surprised when I told them my age. The following nights they helped me to "experience" Warsaw, which as I said in my previous post, is a really great city.
Friday I did my best to avoid the onslaught of the work that had been piling up during the week. I completed many small tasks and and prepared others for next week. With Warsaw behind me, I will now be working on wrapping up the EMTPJ project so that it can be advertised on the web in March, as well as organizing the UNCITRAL Conference for June. Still, I have an aching feeling something new and big will be thrown at me any day now.
Weeks one and two at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy
So I was a little bit later in starting my internship than the rest of the CLP, but as soon as I arrived in Berlin I was right in the thick of things. The icd office has a staff of around 80, with people working on projects relating to German-Canadian relations, European-American relations, European-South American Relations, Intra-European Relations as well as several other areas. When I arrived I was added to the News Team here, which writes research articles, interviews high profile visitors and more importantly attends all icd functions to cover interesting and important events.
Luckily for me, the icd was hosting the Berlin International Economic Congress the first weekend of my arrival. The BEIC is a new event created by the icd that invites speakers from several nations to come speak about the potential for cooperation and reform in the areas of economics, international organizations and the environment. Some of the bigger names slated to come were Renate Kuenast, the leader of the German Green Party, Guido de Marco, former president of the United Nations General Assembly, Heiner Flassbeck, director of the Globalization and Development Division of UNCTAD and Soloman Isaac Passy, the former Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE. There were also several former prime ministers from around Europe, ambassadors, MEPS and former ministers of defense, trade etc. So it was definitely exciting to be getting a chance to meet these people and hear them speak.
On my first day of work people were already busy preparing for the conference, and I spent the majority of the day researching the congresses speakers and writing short introductions for them, which were to be read at the congress. This was a good way for me to get acquainted with the speakers before they came, and also gave a lot of insight into the magnitude of who would be at the weekend’s events.
As the week progressed the stress level increased exponentially. On the second day in the office we needed to format and edit the interview questions for the 30+ speakers that would be at the conference. This wasn’t quite as interesting as some of the other work, as the team had already written the questions before my arrival, and we were only checking grammar, spelling etc. I found out that being a native English speaker in an international NGO means that you need to be proofreading constantly.
Wednesday was our last day before the start of the congress and it was very busy. One of our main tasks for the day was writing (and re-writing) the questions for the panel discussions that would be taking place the following days. I never realized how every small detail of something like this could make such a difference. Our director would send us back questions just to make the smallest of changes regarding word choice, or just send back an entire list of questions and tell us to start over. It was very frustrating. However, when the panel discussions took place, it was quite satisfying to hear important political figures having debates based on the questions we had written.
This was also the first day that I had a little disappointment at work. I had previously been scheduled to conduct interviews with some of the speakers, including the Ambassador of Lesotho to Germany, who serves as coordinator and chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and who represented these nations at the Copenhagen Climate Council, with one of my bosses, in order to help me through my first round of interviews. But, as all interviews are done in teams of two, and my boss decided that she didn’t have time to conduct any interviews and would instead be needed elsewhere, I had to give my interviews away to the other teams. This left me to work on the testimonial team, which involved interviewing the congresses participants instead of speakers, and also required me to be at the entire Congress in order to take notes. And, since the congress runs from 8 am to 8pm from Thursday to Sunday, that meant I had a very long weekend ahead of me.
For the most part, everyday on the congress was the same. I would arrive at 8 in the morning, listen to speakers and take notes all day, and then get a chance to talk to the speakers at various social functions following the congress. One of the most interesting people I had a chance to speak with was an MEP from Denmark named Dan Jorgensen, who was the youngest MEP ever elected to office. He had some very interesting and insightful views on climate change, and, being so young, was really progressive in his ideas to involve the youth in climate protection.
I decided to include the first and second week of work together here as, since I didn’t get a weekend off my first week, we were given Monday and Tuesday off. So my second week wasn’t much of a week at all. During the time back we spent most of the day transcribing interviews from our Dictaphones to word documents and typing up our notes from the speakers and combining them in google documents. We will later post the interviews to the website and use the notes to write articles on the speakers or speeches later.
I also turned in my first research proposal this week on the use of cultural diplomacy to further the campaign to create a parliamentary assembly in the United Nations, so we will see how that goes.
That’s about all from Berlin for the moment, sorry for the length, but there was a lot going on. Until next week.
Luckily for me, the icd was hosting the Berlin International Economic Congress the first weekend of my arrival. The BEIC is a new event created by the icd that invites speakers from several nations to come speak about the potential for cooperation and reform in the areas of economics, international organizations and the environment. Some of the bigger names slated to come were Renate Kuenast, the leader of the German Green Party, Guido de Marco, former president of the United Nations General Assembly, Heiner Flassbeck, director of the Globalization and Development Division of UNCTAD and Soloman Isaac Passy, the former Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE. There were also several former prime ministers from around Europe, ambassadors, MEPS and former ministers of defense, trade etc. So it was definitely exciting to be getting a chance to meet these people and hear them speak.
On my first day of work people were already busy preparing for the conference, and I spent the majority of the day researching the congresses speakers and writing short introductions for them, which were to be read at the congress. This was a good way for me to get acquainted with the speakers before they came, and also gave a lot of insight into the magnitude of who would be at the weekend’s events.
As the week progressed the stress level increased exponentially. On the second day in the office we needed to format and edit the interview questions for the 30+ speakers that would be at the conference. This wasn’t quite as interesting as some of the other work, as the team had already written the questions before my arrival, and we were only checking grammar, spelling etc. I found out that being a native English speaker in an international NGO means that you need to be proofreading constantly.
Wednesday was our last day before the start of the congress and it was very busy. One of our main tasks for the day was writing (and re-writing) the questions for the panel discussions that would be taking place the following days. I never realized how every small detail of something like this could make such a difference. Our director would send us back questions just to make the smallest of changes regarding word choice, or just send back an entire list of questions and tell us to start over. It was very frustrating. However, when the panel discussions took place, it was quite satisfying to hear important political figures having debates based on the questions we had written.
This was also the first day that I had a little disappointment at work. I had previously been scheduled to conduct interviews with some of the speakers, including the Ambassador of Lesotho to Germany, who serves as coordinator and chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and who represented these nations at the Copenhagen Climate Council, with one of my bosses, in order to help me through my first round of interviews. But, as all interviews are done in teams of two, and my boss decided that she didn’t have time to conduct any interviews and would instead be needed elsewhere, I had to give my interviews away to the other teams. This left me to work on the testimonial team, which involved interviewing the congresses participants instead of speakers, and also required me to be at the entire Congress in order to take notes. And, since the congress runs from 8 am to 8pm from Thursday to Sunday, that meant I had a very long weekend ahead of me.
For the most part, everyday on the congress was the same. I would arrive at 8 in the morning, listen to speakers and take notes all day, and then get a chance to talk to the speakers at various social functions following the congress. One of the most interesting people I had a chance to speak with was an MEP from Denmark named Dan Jorgensen, who was the youngest MEP ever elected to office. He had some very interesting and insightful views on climate change, and, being so young, was really progressive in his ideas to involve the youth in climate protection.
I decided to include the first and second week of work together here as, since I didn’t get a weekend off my first week, we were given Monday and Tuesday off. So my second week wasn’t much of a week at all. During the time back we spent most of the day transcribing interviews from our Dictaphones to word documents and typing up our notes from the speakers and combining them in google documents. We will later post the interviews to the website and use the notes to write articles on the speakers or speeches later.
I also turned in my first research proposal this week on the use of cultural diplomacy to further the campaign to create a parliamentary assembly in the United Nations, so we will see how that goes.
That’s about all from Berlin for the moment, sorry for the length, but there was a lot going on. Until next week.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Sara Cline- February 12, 2010
Nothing to report. Government has been closed all week, and our office follows government closings. We're open today, but it is a late start day and very few people are actually in the office.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Week 4 - Greetings from Warsaw
To everyone in DC freezing your faces off, I feel your pain! I am currently in Warsaw, Poland, preparing myself for a Conference tomorrow on multi-step dispute resolution. I arrived this morning, and am staying here until Thursday night. While I am a bit nervous for my speech tomorrow, it is nice to be away from the office for a few days and it will likely make the week feel significantly shorter. A few comments on Warsaw: It is frigid, the streets are utterly noiseless, and the sky is always grey. Still, this city is absolutely beautiful. I've been walking around all day, trying to absorb all it history, which is both cruel and fascinating. The entire city was destroyed during WWII, and when the Nazi's were finally driven out with the help of Russia, the Communist regime only helped develop the citizenry enough to allow themselves the opportunity to set up a puppet government. Needless to say, this city has scars. Still, if any of you follow EU affairs you will know that despite the financial crisis, Poland is doing quite well, actually remarkably so given its downtrodden economic past. Anyways, that's my 6 hour analysis of Warsaw. I will spend the night practicing my presentation, and hopefully it all goes well...I will let you all know in a week.
This past week I spent the majority of my time calling mediation centers in the EU and trying to convince them to join AIA's EMTPJ project (European Mediation Scheme for Practitioners of Justice). I have gotten well over 40 institutions to join now, far better results than we initially predicted. There is still much to be done however, as we hope to have the marketing campaign up and running by the end of the month. I am learning a lot in preparing this project, especially in regards to negotiating with people from other cultures. I have found it considerably hard to convince the German institutions to join our cause, for they seem to speak the least amount of English. Surprisingly, I had a very successful conversation with someone from Moscow, and he was very interested in joining. This ended any preconceived notions I had about Russians being difficult to compromise with (thanks to old James Bond movies). I also had the opportunity to use my Spanish when dealing with an institution in Madrid, and I was happy when I could sell the project in my non-native language. Most people I am consulting with are interested by the fact that an American is working for a Brussels think-tank, and I find it often works to my advantage. An Irish mediator liked my name, and when I told him my Dad's name is Michael Collins (the same name of the Irish Republican Army's former leader) he laughed and the conversation quickly grew more casual. These conversations have become very rewarding, and enjoyable.
Last week was much less stressful than the one prior. I was able to learn a lot about international mediation, which is what I am most interested in and essentially the reason I flew all the way to Brussels for this internship. Still, my boss still rushes into my office a couple times a day jabbering about an arbitration case he needs me to look over. I do my best, and there is no way he doesn't know I am not a law student now (for I have told him countless times), yet he still consults with me on dense arbitral cases. Perhaps this will grow on me, though I doubt it. For the time being, I am much more intrigued by cross-cultural mediation, for it seems to shrink the world and reduce any international conflicts to what they really are, communication errors. I hope to gain valuable insight during my time here on how mediation can be applied to not only business disputes, but those between governments as well. Until then, wish me luck tomorrow.
This past week I spent the majority of my time calling mediation centers in the EU and trying to convince them to join AIA's EMTPJ project (European Mediation Scheme for Practitioners of Justice). I have gotten well over 40 institutions to join now, far better results than we initially predicted. There is still much to be done however, as we hope to have the marketing campaign up and running by the end of the month. I am learning a lot in preparing this project, especially in regards to negotiating with people from other cultures. I have found it considerably hard to convince the German institutions to join our cause, for they seem to speak the least amount of English. Surprisingly, I had a very successful conversation with someone from Moscow, and he was very interested in joining. This ended any preconceived notions I had about Russians being difficult to compromise with (thanks to old James Bond movies). I also had the opportunity to use my Spanish when dealing with an institution in Madrid, and I was happy when I could sell the project in my non-native language. Most people I am consulting with are interested by the fact that an American is working for a Brussels think-tank, and I find it often works to my advantage. An Irish mediator liked my name, and when I told him my Dad's name is Michael Collins (the same name of the Irish Republican Army's former leader) he laughed and the conversation quickly grew more casual. These conversations have become very rewarding, and enjoyable.
Last week was much less stressful than the one prior. I was able to learn a lot about international mediation, which is what I am most interested in and essentially the reason I flew all the way to Brussels for this internship. Still, my boss still rushes into my office a couple times a day jabbering about an arbitration case he needs me to look over. I do my best, and there is no way he doesn't know I am not a law student now (for I have told him countless times), yet he still consults with me on dense arbitral cases. Perhaps this will grow on me, though I doubt it. For the time being, I am much more intrigued by cross-cultural mediation, for it seems to shrink the world and reduce any international conflicts to what they really are, communication errors. I hope to gain valuable insight during my time here on how mediation can be applied to not only business disputes, but those between governments as well. Until then, wish me luck tomorrow.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Week of the Primary Election
I really thought the week of the primary election would be more exciting. The state was buzzing about who would fill each party's nominee position for various offices. But from the primary turnout numbers, it looked like not that many in the state really cared all that much, those working in government just happen to be surrounded with it and are more in tune with what is going on. The capitol building remained quiet Monday and Tuesday and even most of Wednesday, despite the fact that the House was in Session. There was some talk of the election on Wednesday but not as much as I had expected (There was much more discussion later in the week about the Democratic nomineee for Lt. Governor as the press was uncovering more about him. Due to his questionable past and pressure from the press and members of the Democratic party, he has now stepped down as the party's candidate.)
The House reconvened on Wednesday afternoon, which I was looking forward to. The Capitol building has been extrememly quiet between the State of the State address (when the General Assembly was last in session) and the election, so I was looking forward to having the place buzzing again. However, session on Wednesday lasted only about 30 minutes and no bills were called. There were several committee hearings scheduled for Wednesday evening but many were cancelled so our office ended up not having to go to any.
I thought Thursday would be slighly more exciting than Wednesday, but was a little disappointed. I came into the office early on Thursday to attend a committee hearing, only to get into the hearing and see only one Representative present and hear that no bills were going to be called. I ended up going to three committees that day and only one actually called any bills. Oh well. In session not much was done as well. I think the thought process of having the House come back for session was to get the Representatives back in "legislature mode" instead of "election mode".
This coming week (the week of February 8th) looks to be more exciting, as both the House and Senate are back in Session and there are a bunch of committee hearings scheduled. Deadlines for introducing bills are also this week so many people are scrambling to get any last bills together for introduction.
The House reconvened on Wednesday afternoon, which I was looking forward to. The Capitol building has been extrememly quiet between the State of the State address (when the General Assembly was last in session) and the election, so I was looking forward to having the place buzzing again. However, session on Wednesday lasted only about 30 minutes and no bills were called. There were several committee hearings scheduled for Wednesday evening but many were cancelled so our office ended up not having to go to any.
I thought Thursday would be slighly more exciting than Wednesday, but was a little disappointed. I came into the office early on Thursday to attend a committee hearing, only to get into the hearing and see only one Representative present and hear that no bills were going to be called. I ended up going to three committees that day and only one actually called any bills. Oh well. In session not much was done as well. I think the thought process of having the House come back for session was to get the Representatives back in "legislature mode" instead of "election mode".
This coming week (the week of February 8th) looks to be more exciting, as both the House and Senate are back in Session and there are a bunch of committee hearings scheduled. Deadlines for introducing bills are also this week so many people are scrambling to get any last bills together for introduction.
Week Four - February 8, 2010
This was an intense week for the Capitol Fax Blog. We got to do some serious work on behalf of the blog. I covered the Dan Hynes campaign event on election day as the results were coming in, taking some footage of the event and keeping updated on the results as they rolled in. The actual night of the election was left unresolved, as the GOP and Dem Gov races, the GOP lt. gov race, the dem comptroller race and the 10th congressional races were left too close to call. The next day I filmed State Rep. Jack Franks's reaction to the situation and asked what Dan Hynes should do next.
Because AP and Kirk Dillard's campaign had different vote totals, Rich had us look at the election results of each county and check for discrepancies between the two results for each source. We managed to find that one of the counties in Dillard's total was incorrect, which explained why he had himself down by only 200 or so votes instead of 504. It was great knowing that our research actually meant something to the electoral process, given the circulation of Cap Fax and how this revealed the flaw in Dillard's vote total. As information rolled out about Scott Lee Cohen's background, we followed the drama until its resolution today with Cohen dropping out of the race. Now the attention will most likely turn to who the Dems pick to replace him on the ticket and the final results of the GOP Gov race, still left up in the air between Dillard and Brady.
Because AP and Kirk Dillard's campaign had different vote totals, Rich had us look at the election results of each county and check for discrepancies between the two results for each source. We managed to find that one of the counties in Dillard's total was incorrect, which explained why he had himself down by only 200 or so votes instead of 504. It was great knowing that our research actually meant something to the electoral process, given the circulation of Cap Fax and how this revealed the flaw in Dillard's vote total. As information rolled out about Scott Lee Cohen's background, we followed the drama until its resolution today with Cohen dropping out of the race. Now the attention will most likely turn to who the Dems pick to replace him on the ticket and the final results of the GOP Gov race, still left up in the air between Dillard and Brady.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Week 3 at DoS
This week was nowhere near exciting as the last. The beginning was slow, I got to read a few reports and go to a couple meetings with mid-levels. I got to write a brief for one of our deputy assistant secretaries (DAS) which was cool. I realize that things have to get proofread countless times. I attended a few intern events this week including a visit to the Capitol, which was less than impressive, and a networking/informational lunch with a civil and foreign service officer.
Its clear that being an intern at the department offers you a great advantage when it comes to getting a job there in the future. A lot of people I have met were interns or fellows there and they stayed on as contractors or got full time positions because they already knew the ropes.
The end of the week, as Sara already mentioned was the snowstorm that was coming to D.C. Everyone here does not react to snow as well as Chicagoans. People were stockpiling groceries, fighting to get bags of salt and shovels, and panicking as if it was the end of the world. The term floating around is "snowmaggedon". So on Friday we were dismissed four hours earlier than regularly scheduled because the snow was supposed to get worse all of Friday evening and Saturday morning. The forecast was right. Large amounts of snow, many metro trains and all buses were not operating all weekend. I live in Arlington and to get to D.C. I have to go past Arlington cemetery which is an above ground station. With the snow all above ground stations are closed so I'm pretty much stuck in Virginia.
The government is probably going to be closed Monday as well, and Tuesday after work I'm headed to New York city for an event at the United Nations. I'll be there for the rest of the week so I probably won't have much to say about my one work day next week. Thats it for now.
Its clear that being an intern at the department offers you a great advantage when it comes to getting a job there in the future. A lot of people I have met were interns or fellows there and they stayed on as contractors or got full time positions because they already knew the ropes.
The end of the week, as Sara already mentioned was the snowstorm that was coming to D.C. Everyone here does not react to snow as well as Chicagoans. People were stockpiling groceries, fighting to get bags of salt and shovels, and panicking as if it was the end of the world. The term floating around is "snowmaggedon". So on Friday we were dismissed four hours earlier than regularly scheduled because the snow was supposed to get worse all of Friday evening and Saturday morning. The forecast was right. Large amounts of snow, many metro trains and all buses were not operating all weekend. I live in Arlington and to get to D.C. I have to go past Arlington cemetery which is an above ground station. With the snow all above ground stations are closed so I'm pretty much stuck in Virginia.
The government is probably going to be closed Monday as well, and Tuesday after work I'm headed to New York city for an event at the United Nations. I'll be there for the rest of the week so I probably won't have much to say about my one work day next week. Thats it for now.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Sara Cline- February 5, 2010
As Lizzy and Morgan know, DC is about to get hit with a massive blizzard. It was supposed to come this morning (and now is pushed back until later this evening), so my boss told me not to come in, for fear the weather would be bad. So, this is my second 3-day weekend in a row!
Right now is "appropriations season." Prior to working at PB, I didn't really know what that meant, but am starting to understand it. Different clients want money from the government for different projects (for example U of I might want $500,000 for some new engineering device, or to start a program to help women succeed in a field where they are underrepresented). So, the client comes to PB and explains what they need the money for, and then people at PB work to make that happen. To be considered to receive funding for a project (an earmark), a request form has to be submitted to the Member(s) who would be responsible for trying to earmark that money. For example, if I was trying to get a project done in Wheaton, requests would be filed to Senators Durbin and Burris and Congressman Roskam, the rep for Wheaton. Each office has a different due date for these forms, but they're all happening around this time. It is so busy right now, because the Firm has a large number of clients, often times with multiple projects, that need these forms filled out. The other step that PB takes to help clients secure earmarks is go with them to the Hill to lobby for their projects.
This week, I helped Jess a little bit with some of her forms. I can't really claim much credit for doing it though, because I was filling out the forms for Senator Graham (SC) based on the forms she had already done for Senator Inglis (also from SC).. so most of the work was already done. It was extremely interesting to see the wide range of projects people/groups request money for. The forms require a lot of information as to how the project will be completed, where the rest of the funding is coming from, how it will help the economy, how many new jobs it will create, etc.
On Thursday, I listened in on a call with Ohio University, where the projects they're seeking money for were discussed. Next week, leadership from the University will be in town to meet with Brown, Voinovich and their rep to discuss the projects, and I will be going with them. I assume it will be somewhat similar to when the orthodontists were here, but am much more excited because I have a better grasp on what is trying to be accomplished.
I am extremely happy that I choose this internship. It is a great fit for me, I am learning so much, I like the people I am working with and the work that I am doing.
Right now is "appropriations season." Prior to working at PB, I didn't really know what that meant, but am starting to understand it. Different clients want money from the government for different projects (for example U of I might want $500,000 for some new engineering device, or to start a program to help women succeed in a field where they are underrepresented). So, the client comes to PB and explains what they need the money for, and then people at PB work to make that happen. To be considered to receive funding for a project (an earmark), a request form has to be submitted to the Member(s) who would be responsible for trying to earmark that money. For example, if I was trying to get a project done in Wheaton, requests would be filed to Senators Durbin and Burris and Congressman Roskam, the rep for Wheaton. Each office has a different due date for these forms, but they're all happening around this time. It is so busy right now, because the Firm has a large number of clients, often times with multiple projects, that need these forms filled out. The other step that PB takes to help clients secure earmarks is go with them to the Hill to lobby for their projects.
This week, I helped Jess a little bit with some of her forms. I can't really claim much credit for doing it though, because I was filling out the forms for Senator Graham (SC) based on the forms she had already done for Senator Inglis (also from SC).. so most of the work was already done. It was extremely interesting to see the wide range of projects people/groups request money for. The forms require a lot of information as to how the project will be completed, where the rest of the funding is coming from, how it will help the economy, how many new jobs it will create, etc.
On Thursday, I listened in on a call with Ohio University, where the projects they're seeking money for were discussed. Next week, leadership from the University will be in town to meet with Brown, Voinovich and their rep to discuss the projects, and I will be going with them. I assume it will be somewhat similar to when the orthodontists were here, but am much more excited because I have a better grasp on what is trying to be accomplished.
I am extremely happy that I choose this internship. It is a great fit for me, I am learning so much, I like the people I am working with and the work that I am doing.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Week Two- State Senator Michael Frerichs Office
This week in the Champaign District office was rather quiet as the senator was out of the office on vacation til mid-week. Laurie and I continue to research a variety of issues of interests with regard to potential legislation for the upcoming session. Due to the pace of the office this week, I spent the majority of the week answering phones and making calls / waiting for returned calls or emails from persons of interest with concern to potential legislation.
In order to pass the time between inquiries I began to work on a number of constituent cases. To be involved in the legislative process is quite intriguing; however, I believe to work on the constituent casework is the most rewarding. I remember my time in Washington D.C. with Congressman Ray LaHood; I really enjoyed spending time with constituents and talking to them while conducting tours through the Capitol.
The interns are beginning to filter into the office. I now have to take more of a leadership role as Laurie has asked me to be the intern coordinator while I am here. In order to create less of a burden on her role in the office I must be ready to direct the interns to projects when the enter the office.
There has been discussion of my possibly running the Springfield office of the senator on a bi-weekly basis with his chief of staff. Of course, I have a few issues to work out before making this commitment; yet I hope the opportunity is realized. To run a state senate office on a part-time basis whether it be his district office or state office in Springfield would be a great opportunity.
In order to pass the time between inquiries I began to work on a number of constituent cases. To be involved in the legislative process is quite intriguing; however, I believe to work on the constituent casework is the most rewarding. I remember my time in Washington D.C. with Congressman Ray LaHood; I really enjoyed spending time with constituents and talking to them while conducting tours through the Capitol.
The interns are beginning to filter into the office. I now have to take more of a leadership role as Laurie has asked me to be the intern coordinator while I am here. In order to create less of a burden on her role in the office I must be ready to direct the interns to projects when the enter the office.
There has been discussion of my possibly running the Springfield office of the senator on a bi-weekly basis with his chief of staff. Of course, I have a few issues to work out before making this commitment; yet I hope the opportunity is realized. To run a state senate office on a part-time basis whether it be his district office or state office in Springfield would be a great opportunity.
Third Week - February 1, 2010
This was my third week working for Cap Fax, and most of the intensity has been in following the elections. The primaries are becoming extremely competitive on both sides of the aisle in the Governor's race, and the Senate race on the Democratic side is tightening up as more people make up their minds of who to support.
The other intern and I continued working on Morning Shorts and also compiled the fundraising information for the candidates running in statewide Constitutional offices. Looking at the fundraising disclosures reveals a great deal about how candidates fundraise. Some of the candidates who are making the biggest impression in the races succeed because they have a lot of personal wealth to invest in a campaign.
This weekend I met many important campaign personnel who Rich had invited to a party he hosts around this time each campaign cycle. I talked to staffers working for the Giannoulias, Hoffman, Cheryle Jackson, Quinn, Preckwinkle, and Mark Kirk campaigns, who all managed to mingle and enjoy good conversation in the midst of a looming primary. It is very reassuring to see the people who are competing against one another still manage to be friends just days before the polls close.
This week should be an exciting one! On Tuesday after the polls close I will be covering a campaign speech, be it an acceptance speech or a concession speech, from one of the major candidates. Having seen how much these races have tightened up and how competitive it all is, I am very excited to see the results!
The other intern and I continued working on Morning Shorts and also compiled the fundraising information for the candidates running in statewide Constitutional offices. Looking at the fundraising disclosures reveals a great deal about how candidates fundraise. Some of the candidates who are making the biggest impression in the races succeed because they have a lot of personal wealth to invest in a campaign.
This weekend I met many important campaign personnel who Rich had invited to a party he hosts around this time each campaign cycle. I talked to staffers working for the Giannoulias, Hoffman, Cheryle Jackson, Quinn, Preckwinkle, and Mark Kirk campaigns, who all managed to mingle and enjoy good conversation in the midst of a looming primary. It is very reassuring to see the people who are competing against one another still manage to be friends just days before the polls close.
This week should be an exciting one! On Tuesday after the polls close I will be covering a campaign speech, be it an acceptance speech or a concession speech, from one of the major candidates. Having seen how much these races have tightened up and how competitive it all is, I am very excited to see the results!
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