By Ellie Ta, 2025 CLA Intern
I didn’t know exactly what to expect from our trip to the Capitol. Would it be like a school field trip? Would it spark an epiphany in my head about my future career path? It was somehow none of the above, yet more than I could have anticipated to fit into two days. I got a clearer understanding of the inner workings of state government, what legislative directors and aides actually do, and how policy priorities move (or stall) in a system led mostly by one party. I was also super excited to hear about topics we hadn’t yet seen during the program, like criminal justice reform, and how they fit into the larger picture of state legislature.
But the most underrated part wasn’t the floor session or the panelists, it was the moments between agenda items: points of reflection and connection between the cohort. Even after five weeks of working together, it still surprised me how much this group showed up for each other, despite running on an average of 3 hours of sleep, packed schedules, and one banh-mi each.
We had a blast belting Golden for the millionth time, flawlessly imitating each others intros (name, school, and host office!), or passing around Nerds gummy clusters like they were magical anti-sleep candies.
When the schedule was tight and the setting was formal, these moments grounded us, giving us the space process what we couldn’t during the actual sessions. The weight of the trip felt just a little lighter because we were handling it together, keeping each other functional enough to make meaning out of the trip.
One particular moment that stuck with me: watching an assemblymember fill out the New York Times Crossword during session.It caught me off guard. Not because it was scandalous or inappropriate, but because it was familiar: it reminded me of myself during the last 15 minutes of an economics lecture. Perhaps we all weren’t as different as we seemed. Assemblymembers are people too, people who are probably bored, tired, and ready for summer recess. Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the cohort, I couldn’t help but wonder if they had a version of what we did. Busy schedules, little sleep, depending on their teams to get through the day smoothly. The same system, just translated to a much larger scale.
As much as I hate to admit it, it really was the friends we made along the way. Just like the policymakers we observed—imperfect people trying to make sense of a sprawling and often theatrical political system—we’re all still trying to figure out what our own roles are and cracking a few jokes along the way. The summit didn’t suddenly hand us clarity about our futures, but it did give us something just as real: a group of people we can lean on as we navigate whatever comes next. I can’t wait to see how each person in this group shows up in the world—and where our paths inevitably cross again.