Tuesday, January 15, 2008
...and since we've no place to go...
My walk in the morning and evening, often very late in the evening, is now a very brisk walk. It is super cold! I'm thinking that although I might get excited over seeing snow in the forecast, students around here don't get quite as excited, because most of the time, they still have to go to school anyway. I'm out of luck too, the federal government doesn't shut down for much. But, the prospect of snow in the forecast is still exciting since it's a pretty rare occurrence back home.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Giving Thanks
Sorry for the delay in updates, but the Fellowship and Washington, DC are keeping me incredibly busy!
Rich and I shared a nice, quiet Thanksgiving by ourselves in DC. I think we must have known that quality time together would be scarce in December. We did some shopping and exploring and Rich managed to squeeze in time for a few good shots with his cool camera. We were incredibly thankful for this quality time together.
National Cathedral
National Cathedral at night
Alexandria
Washington Monument from Jefferson Memorial
Don't get ANY ideas! This is Natalie, the new addition to our friends', the Proctors, new family.
Rich and I shared a nice, quiet Thanksgiving by ourselves in DC. I think we must have known that quality time together would be scarce in December. We did some shopping and exploring and Rich managed to squeeze in time for a few good shots with his cool camera. We were incredibly thankful for this quality time together.
National Cathedral
National Cathedral at night
Alexandria
Washington Monument from Jefferson Memorial
Don't get ANY ideas! This is Natalie, the new addition to our friends', the Proctors, new family.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Sam at Work
Question from reader: Sam, I know you work in the House of Representatives, but what do you actually do there?
That's a great question! Here's the answer:
Fellowship:
First of all, I have to remind people that this is a fellowship. So, although I might spend 60 to 75% of my time working on caucus stuff for the Congressman, I fill the rest of my work day and sometimes evenings with professional development. I go to lots of lectures, briefings, forums, tours, professional receptions, etc. I want to learn and do everything I can, especially things I can't do in the isolation of rural, northeastern North Carolina back home.
Big Picture:
Second of all, I need to give you a little primer on how things work on the Hill. Members of Congress are really busy people. They have a staff that works for them to take care of all the little details day in and day out. Picture a big conference table with people all around it inside the member's head. Each person at the table is responsible for a specific topic or subject that the member works on. There's a person for military, education, science, healthcare, etc.
If you wanted to come to your representative's office to talk about how you want them to vote on an issue or legislation that you want them to introduce, then you most likely would make an appointment with the staff person that is appointed to that issue. The staffer usually researches and drafts the legislation, floor statements, press releases, letters, and advises the member on how to vote. At the same time, the staffer is doing all these things in the mindset of the member. The member is the one that has the ultimate say in what goes on.
As for regular work, I do a lot of writing and editing.
Everything I do gets edited by at least 2 other people before it leaves this office. I remember when I kept my TREC journal in the Bering Sea that I was offended when people wanted to read and approve my work before I uploaded it because it was my personal writing. Now, I want lots of people to read and edit for me because I am writing with the voice of the Congressman.
Here is an example of what I would do on a typical project. It is a big part of my daily work.
Outside groups will often approach the caucus and say that they have a study they want to release and some policy recommendations they want to give to the staffers that write the legislation on the Hill. Well, it's our mission to keep the staffers informed so that they support legislation that helps address diversity issues so, we schedule a briefing together. I take care of reserving the room and the equipment while the group provides the speaker, program, sometimes lunch, and other handouts for the attendees. The people from the organization make a flyer and invite their colleagues to come. I, on the other hand, have to write something called a dear colleague letter in order to invite my Hill colleagues to attend. So, I write a letter from my boss to other members of Congress and address it "Dear Colleague..." It generally states the logistics and why the issue is important so that you would want to come. Since it is in the voice of the Congressman, I generally have at least one colleague edit the letter before I submit it to the Chief of Staff, who then edits it 2 or 3 times before it gets blessed to leave the office. There is also a particular way of sending these letters by email that I have to follow when I go to send it out.
Next, if the group wants my boss to come speak at the briefing, then I have to go through the Divine to get it put on his schedule, assuming the Divine blesses the event - and even then, nothing is written in stone. I am speaking metaphorically, of course, and I do mean that with a funny, light-hearted tone. They are actually really nice ladies in my office. The Divine would be the scheduler and the chief of staff. If I can get my boss to come to the meeting, then I also have to write the talking points. Picture: My boss reading the talking points.
In summary, I write, write, write, help coordinate briefings that promote the ideas of the caucus, meet with people, and write some more.
That's a great question! Here's the answer:
Fellowship:
First of all, I have to remind people that this is a fellowship. So, although I might spend 60 to 75% of my time working on caucus stuff for the Congressman, I fill the rest of my work day and sometimes evenings with professional development. I go to lots of lectures, briefings, forums, tours, professional receptions, etc. I want to learn and do everything I can, especially things I can't do in the isolation of rural, northeastern North Carolina back home.
Big Picture:
Second of all, I need to give you a little primer on how things work on the Hill. Members of Congress are really busy people. They have a staff that works for them to take care of all the little details day in and day out. Picture a big conference table with people all around it inside the member's head. Each person at the table is responsible for a specific topic or subject that the member works on. There's a person for military, education, science, healthcare, etc.
If you wanted to come to your representative's office to talk about how you want them to vote on an issue or legislation that you want them to introduce, then you most likely would make an appointment with the staff person that is appointed to that issue. The staffer usually researches and drafts the legislation, floor statements, press releases, letters, and advises the member on how to vote. At the same time, the staffer is doing all these things in the mindset of the member. The member is the one that has the ultimate say in what goes on.
As for regular work, I do a lot of writing and editing.
Everything I do gets edited by at least 2 other people before it leaves this office. I remember when I kept my TREC journal in the Bering Sea that I was offended when people wanted to read and approve my work before I uploaded it because it was my personal writing. Now, I want lots of people to read and edit for me because I am writing with the voice of the Congressman.
Here is an example of what I would do on a typical project. It is a big part of my daily work.
Outside groups will often approach the caucus and say that they have a study they want to release and some policy recommendations they want to give to the staffers that write the legislation on the Hill. Well, it's our mission to keep the staffers informed so that they support legislation that helps address diversity issues so, we schedule a briefing together. I take care of reserving the room and the equipment while the group provides the speaker, program, sometimes lunch, and other handouts for the attendees. The people from the organization make a flyer and invite their colleagues to come. I, on the other hand, have to write something called a dear colleague letter in order to invite my Hill colleagues to attend. So, I write a letter from my boss to other members of Congress and address it "Dear Colleague..." It generally states the logistics and why the issue is important so that you would want to come. Since it is in the voice of the Congressman, I generally have at least one colleague edit the letter before I submit it to the Chief of Staff, who then edits it 2 or 3 times before it gets blessed to leave the office. There is also a particular way of sending these letters by email that I have to follow when I go to send it out.
Next, if the group wants my boss to come speak at the briefing, then I have to go through the Divine to get it put on his schedule, assuming the Divine blesses the event - and even then, nothing is written in stone. I am speaking metaphorically, of course, and I do mean that with a funny, light-hearted tone. They are actually really nice ladies in my office. The Divine would be the scheduler and the chief of staff. If I can get my boss to come to the meeting, then I also have to write the talking points. Picture: My boss reading the talking points.
In summary, I write, write, write, help coordinate briefings that promote the ideas of the caucus, meet with people, and write some more.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
National Chemistry Week
I can't believe I never wrote a blog on this! Oh, this was so exciting for me...One of the outside groups that has an active presence on the Hill is the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS has an annual outreach event called National Chemistry Week. This year, it was held from Oct. 21-27, 2007. Some of you might know Mole Day which is held during this week on 10/23 of every year because of the significance of Avogadro's number, 6.02 x 10^23. But I digress... So this year, the theme of National Chemistry Week was "The Many Faces of Chemistry," which celebrates ACS efforts to diversify the chemical sciences and future workforce by increasing the numbers of minorities and women in those fields.
The National Chemistry Week theme was in direct alignment with the goals of the caucus that I staff. So...drum roll please...I was able to author a piece of legislation, called a resolution, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of this annual event and the efforts of ACS to reach under-represented populations. (With tons of help, of course!)
The resolution was introduced on 10/16/2007 and then passed with a voice vote on 10/22/2007!!!
My job was to solicit co-sponsors through a dear colleague letter and to keep a record of everyone that wanted to sign on to the resolution. (There were 15 co-sponsors total.) I also wrote a blog, press release, and floor statement for my boss. Unfortunately, my boss was unable to read the floor statement that I prepared for him, but it was entered into the Congressional Record. Several other congressmen made great speeches including, Mr. Gordon (TN), who is the chair of the Science Committee, Mr. Reichert (WA), Mr. Ehlers (MI), and Mr. Holt (NJ) on the day of the vote.
Does this mean that I'm a real Hill staffer now?
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Let it snow!
We had one beautiful day of snow. Although it melted the next day, it still made for some really pretty views in our nation's capital. Time to break out my arsenal of cute scarves, matching gloves, and wool coat!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Oh, the weather outside is frightful...
But inside, it's so delightful...
What do I see in the forecast? I can't say that I still enjoy my walk to work in the morning the same as I used to...it's cold!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Fall Foliage
Fall in our nation's capital was spectacular even after reports that the drought would ruin that. Fall is my favorite time of the year because of the beautiful colors.
The view from my friend Karen's awesome apartment.
The view from my friend Karen's awesome apartment.
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