weekly update |
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Who were you the night before you started your internship? Who are you as you walk off site at the end of your last day? What’s changed? If you could go back in time to talk to the you you were the night before it all started, what would you say to your past self? Would your past self be impressed with / proud of your future self? How come/why not?
The night before I started my internship I was Paul Hathaway, a teenager with little knowledge of how government worked, a kid who had no idea how to get to the state house, and a person with no experience working in state government. I would tell myself to write everything down, because so much happens in a given day that you are bound to forget some of it. As I left the State House on my last day I knew my way around the building, I knew how the state legislature worked and I knew the budget process. I wouldn’t have known any of this had it not been for my internship. I know that my past self would be impressed with my future self, I know this because I accomplished everything I wanted to. I walked into the state house wanting to learn about State Government and I learned so much, I was exposed to different kinds of topics, from homelessness to distracted driving. I was there to see the governors budget get released, the MBTA fail, and the passing of the House budget.
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NEW ORLEANS
I missed one week during my internship, due to the fact that I was in New Orleans helping to rebuild houses with my carpentry class. In New Orleans, I was able to draw connections between my internship and the work we were doing in the city. In New Orleans, we saw how thousands of houses were destroyed and many of them have yet to be rebuilt. Hurricane Sandy hit Massachusetts back in 2012, I watched as those houses, that mainly belonged to rich white people, along the coast were rebuilt almost immediately, and yet the poor and predominantly black people in the lower ninth ward are still suffering. Throughout my internship I’ve learned that government is supposed to be in place to help its citizens. I don’t know why the State of Louisiana and the United States have turned their backs on the great city, But I do know that its people like us in carpentry that will eventually get the job done. What food and beverage symbolize your company/industry? Now get profound: turn it into a short story or a personal essay.
Coffee. Coffee symbolizes my industry. There are days when you have to come in early have several meetings, one right after the other. Then you may have to take time to file legislation and hope that it passes. Filing legislation is like surgery. Everything could go well, or you could die on the table. This process can take a lot out of you and that is where the coffee comes in. Coffee has caffeine, it keeps you sharp and it helps you pay attention to detail. I personally drink at least 5 cups a day. Two before I leave my house, one after I leave school, one during the day, and one after I leave the state house. Now I’m no accountant but I’m pretty sure I cant sustain this lifestyle forever, but for now I will see where it takes me. This week at the State House was a very busy week. I attended several meetings regarding various issues, such as, Solar panels, distracted driving, Autism awareness, and an event held by the British Consulate. At these meetings I learned about issues that I had never new affected Massachusetts and was exposed to several different points of view. Also this week at the State House was an Israeli band on a U.S. tour. I never knew that bands would come and play at the State House, and was surprised to see the size of the crowd watching. What is the goal of your industry? Customer satisfaction? Expansion? Profit? Research? How do you know? Is it static, or does it change?
There are hundreds of roles that government plays in our world. However, the general consensus is that the main goal of government is to keep its citizens happy, safe, and thriving. It’s how government achieves its goals where people start to disagree. The main way the government keeps us safe is through the police, who are funded by our taxes. Our taxes fund the government and our taxes lead to our happiness and safety. Our taxes make us thrive, and yet most people, if not all hate them. The general goal could be considered customer satisfaction; the people government serves must be satisfied in order for the government to work. The goal of a government does not change. Once its constituents are happy and safe, the government must work to maintain the safety and happiness. This week at the State House more advocacy groups came in and spoke with us regarding the budget. There may be tons of these meetings, but each one is important. These groups need money for their programs and the only way to get it is to speak with their State Representative. This week we also met with two officials, one a cabinet member, from the State’s Health Department. We met with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) Secretary and the Director of MASSHealth. Both of these meetings were an overview of their departments and what they can help the committee with. When we met with the EOHHS secretary I found out that EOHHS is the largest state agency and takes up the majority of the governors budget. In both meetings I learned things that I had never known and I was glad to take part in them. This week we also had a meeting with members of the Department of Children and Families (DCF). In this meeting the Vice chair of the House Committee, Representative Vega from Holyoke, Discussed the construction and staffing of a DCF family resource center in Holyoke that was shut down. The reason it was shut down was the lack of funding, but out in western Massachusetts there is barely any public transportation. This means that families in Holyoke, most of whom don’t have much money, have to find a way to get to the nearest tier one DCF center in Springfield. In this meeting the committee discussed possible ways to reopen the facility and get families more accessible family help in western Mass. As usual I learned a whole lot in all of these meetings and definitely did not think I would be in these meetings, exposed to such vast topics. What is the general public’s knowledge about your industry? How do they perceive the company as well as the people who do the work within the company? How do you know? Try creating a survey to find out, or use interviews and ask around.
One of the key principles of government is transparency. Transparency can make a government thrive, and yet it can make a Government fall faster than a house of cards. The general public’s knowledge of government is hard to describe. A lot of people might tell you they know everything about government, they could go on and on for hours about how corrupt it is and how there should be no taxes, and yet these people really know nothing about government. Most people perceive the government as a bad thing. They think it comes in and steals your money and wastes it. In some ways this is very true. In other ways however, this is wrong. Most people don’t know this, but the state’s annual budget is available for everyone to see and read. It’s just that no one really wants to read it. People could educate themselves very quickly on government and what it does, and yet they don’t. It is tough to know what the general publics knowledge is of government, because everyone has a different view of it. It is hard to tell what people think of government workers because of the broad range of them. The government pays the Teachers reading this; they also pay first responders, State House workers, Health workers, etc. The list goes on and on and yet this paper doesn’t. This week at the State House was a very interesting week. The House of Representatives held a formal session; we had a meeting with a group of public defenders, as well as meetings with various advocacy groups. These groups are all approaching us about the Governors budget. These groups either want funding for their group or a cause, or they want their funding increased. As the House Chair of the committee of children, families and persons with disabilities Representative Khan has a lot of meetings with these advocacy groups. Also at the State House this week was a formal session in the House of Representatives. This formal session regarded funding increases for various state run programs or organizations that need more money to run until the end of the fiscal year. It was amazing to witness this event as it was happening. Government sustains itself economically through taxes and revenue. Every citizen and business pays taxes and the money from these taxes goes to the government. What it spends that money on is inside every government’s budget. Revenue is earned through people buying products or services through the government. Take the MBTA for example, even though we all hate it, we still use it, and when we do use it, we pay. All of the money earned form the MBTA goes to the government and goes towards funding the MBTA. Knowing this does not change my perspective of the industry, it only makes me the smartest guy at parties. This past week was a busy week at the State House. On Wednesday there was a protest outside, people were out in the cold protesting the MBTA. These shivering men and women wanted the governor to include more money for the MBTA in his budget, which came out the same day. These crazy, cold people did end up getting what they wanted, because the governor increased the funding for the T drastically. This week I also researched various state-run programs for my boss such as, the state’s rental voucher program, which helps low income families find a place to stay. The program has helped out many families who were homeless. This week I also had the opportunity to sit down with Rep. Khan and various homeless advocacy groups such as, youths on fire, and here there stories about the struggle of living on the street. I am glad I sat in on those meetings, because they definitely made me realize that my life wasn’t so bad, and that it could be much worse.
Industry Prompt 1
My Older brother once asked my grandfather if he would set him up with an internship with an elected official. My Grandfather told my brother that he was too good to be getting people coffee. These words of the wise stuck with me throughout my life. I wondered if that was really all internships were? Well, I took a risk and got an internship at the Massachusetts State House. My grandfather couldn’t have been more wrong. At my internship the only person who I get coffee is myself. After my first day, I beat myself up a bit, I let my preconception of internships get to me. I let it shape the way I thought of the political industry. I thought I would be less valued and be doing work that a dog could do. The work I do is valued, and it is work I am happy to say I enjoy doing. In my first week I attended events that covered a wide range of issues. I went to an event on the effects of early childhood intervention and an event provided by the Massachusetts Department of Education, it was an event centered on kids in high school getting jobs in fields they are interested in by hands on learning with large tech companies. The DOE event stuck out to me because I am currently doing that in the field of government. The DOE put on the event because the funding for the program was cut in half and they will not have as much room for kids to participate in the coming years. Events like this stick out to me, because some of them relate to me. These issues are relevant and I am glad to have the opportunity to learn more about them. |
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