This summer, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of getting to know the CLA cohort, but these aren’t the only connections I’ve made with my peers. At my host office, I’ve also had the chance to work and connect with three incredible interns—Skylar, Miranda, and Miguel—through whom I’ve managed to find another community during the summer.
As the summer is wrapping up, a couple of the interns have already ended their time with Team Gomez, and their presence—or lack thereof—has certainly been felt. More than once in the past week I’ve turned around to tell my co-intern a funny story or a life update, only to find the chair empty and realize that they were no longer there to accompany me in the afternoon. More than once I’ve chosen to Doordash my lunch because my co-intern was no longer there to go to Starbucks with me—and the sweltering heat didn’t help in convincing me to go either. And while I’ve enjoyed some increased responsibility in the office, there have definitely been times when I wished one of my co-interns was there to shoulder some of the work with me.
Coming into this internship, I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of work culture and the team environment at my host office, and although I knew that there were going to be three other interns, I wasn’t sure if I would really connect with them. The other three interns had applied directly to the office whereas I was placed at the office through CAUSE, and they had also started working a month before me. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome I received from each of them when we first met, and we’ve even had the chance to hang out after work.
A couple of them are constituents of the district, but they go to school out of state—even as far as New York—and another intern is from out-of-state but goes to school in California. It’s been really insightful chatting with them about their experiences not only in this office but also in their respective hometowns and schools, and it has definitely helped me feel less like an outsider. At the town hall with Congressman Gomez, I also had the chance to hang out with Team Gomez, despite being there as part of CLA, and I feel as part of the Congressman’s office team as I do the CLA cohort.
I’ve been extremely fortunate to make so many connections this summer both with professionals in various fields as well as other college students. It has made going to work so much more enjoyable and this summer so much more eventful, and I’m glad that I can go to both my CLA cohort as well as my host office interns for advice, laughs, and random life updates. It has also been interesting navigating these various relationships inside and outside of the professional setting, and I have learned to balance our personal conversations with office professionalism.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the views or positions of CAUSE or the CAUSE network.
Written by Angel Yuan, Leadership Academy 2023 Intern.
The CAUSE Leadership Academy (CLA) for students is a nine-week, paid, internship program that prepares college undergraduates to lead and advocate for the Asian Pacific Islander community on their campuses and beyond.