Final Batch: Due 12/10/15

1. I learned many things through this internship, such as how to deal with constituents, and how to make constituents feel connected to their representative which seemed very important to me. I also came to understand how important it is as a district representative to really represent the senator in out-reach events, communication and transperancy within local government. 

2. My initial goals were as followed:
      1. To gain a better understanding of case work with constituents.
     2. To gain a larger professional network.
     3. To learn if this type of work is something I would like to do long-term.
I feel as if I did meet my initial goals, I came to understand how to deal with constituent case work in learning to say the right things, and avoid saying certain "wrong" things. And overall, I feel that through my case work I was allowed to help out many constituents and make them feel heard. I also think I grew in my professional networking as I hope to refer to many of the people I met throughout my internship upon graduation and my future career. Finally, I do think this is something I'd want to do long term. Though I wouldn't want to do this out of college, one day when I need a consistent job, I think being a district representative would be enjoyable as a career.

3. Dear Richard Rea,

I would like to genuinely thank you for the opportunity to intern at the office of Senator Bob Huff. Throughout the internship I was able to grow as a future public servant and was able to learn of the importance of local representation. I really enjoyed all of the hands-on interaction I was allowed to partake in and especially enjoyed the out-reach events we all worked very hard on. 

I hope that I was of help to you, the office, and Senator Bob Huff throughout the time I spent working with you all. I hope to take you up on returning at some point to help out- as it was a very enjoyable experience for me, aside from helping me with my career journey. Go Team Huff!

Thanks Sincerely, 
Brianna M. Patton

4. 3 Comments

Batch 6: Due 11/25/15

1. Some of the strengths within the organization I interned for include the amount of citizen out-reach events within our district that the district representatives and even Senator Huff were passionate about. This was because they all understood the importance of making constituents feel represented and also understood, by hosting out-reach events so often it also made the office of Senator Huff visible to the public eye. I also think that our strengths within the organization was our adamancy of being sure that every constituent concern was reported and noted to the Senator. In return we would always follow up with constituents to assure the constituents they were heard.

2. I think that overall the office of Senator Huff understood the importance of local representation, I personally have never felt so welcomed by my local representatives as I felt the office of Senator Huff made that a priority. 

3.  Sometimes acting as a district representative can be difficult as some of the constituents call angry or upset over a certain policy or vote on a bill on behalf of Senator Huff. Though the Senator can't please everyone, those that would call upset were hard to deal with in general because they were already so negative. This was a challenge for me as I worked for the senator, because I didn't always know what to say or how to respond. 

4. I utilized ASU's career services when I was informed about the 2015 Fall Downtown Phoenix Career Fair. Here there were many local government, non-profit, and private oragnaviations looking for undergraduate students and even soon to be graduate students who were interested in an internship or job. This was very beneficial and even though I already work two jobs, I found it important to at least attend to understand what potential employers were looking for. ASU's career services are very resourceful in helping students get active in the hiring process. 

5. 3 Comments 

Batch 5: Due 11/12/15

1. One of the most memorable experiences I got out of interning for the Senator was when I got access to go to the Orange County Flag Day Salute, where I got to see Rand Paul speak. This was a very exciting opportunity for me as I admire Rand Paul for the most part as a politician. I got to enjoy a 4 course meal while watching him speak. This was an unforgettable moment I'll carry with me for the rest of my life!

2. Another experience that was awesome, was when I got a private tour on behalf of the CA State Senate at JPL NASA. This is a place in Los Angeles, one of the many places that NASA utilizes to study and explore space. It had just so happened that the day me and a fellow intern got to tour was the day JPL first received and saw the newest pictures of Jupiter which was very exciting.

3. I believe that both the District office of Senator Huff, as well as the Capitol office of Senator Huff represents both public service as well as urban governance. Working at the District office I was able to experience first hand what it takes to successfully demonstrate public service as well as urban governance, this was by the different services and help that we would provide constituents with. As an elected member of the California Senate, the Senator and his team work to help and represent those citizens of the 29th District, we worked to understand and ultimately resolve issues in the most effective way we could. I believe that the biggest demonstration of urban governance in my internship was displayed through how constituents would reach out to us about certain bill they were passionate about and would call, and express how they felt the senator should vote, due to his representation of the constituents, we would be sure to pass that on to the senator, and if by chance the Senator were to vote against the constituents wishes, we would be sure to email them back and explain why. I noticed that being so concerned with what the constituents believe about policy, they genuinely enjoy the feeling that they've been heard, which they were. On the other hand, I believe that public service was demonstrated throughout my internship because of how we ultimately worked to be there as a resource for any and all of constituents within our district, and did this by hosting informative seminars such as "Protecting Oneself from Being a Victim of Fraud", where we had found out that many citizens within our district had been affected by fraud crimes in the past, we decided to use this as a way to help out them and others. 


4. I overall got many experiences that I will never forget due to my internship. It not only helped me grow in my career and skills, but also with experiences that are exciting and fun like visiting JPL and attending the Flag Salute Dinner. These were both opportunities of many that I get to carry with me for the rest of my life due to my internship with the Senator.

Batch 4: Due 10/22

1. For my interview I interviewed one of my supervisors, Tim Shaw. Tim Shaw was up until recently, the District Director for Senator Huff's team, in addition to working for Senator Huff for over 10 years, Time Shaw serves on the La Habra City Council, was former mayor of La Habra and also serves on the OCTA board. With much service throughout the 29th District, Tim Shaw is very well-known and liked, his responsibilities include, making appearances at events in representing Senator Huff, dealing with constituent case work, and prepares out-reach events within the district.  Tim says he always had an interest in public service, though it wasn't until grad school at George Washington University in Washington D.C. that he decided he wanted to return to his hometown to work for the city and get into more local representation. For the position of Tim Shaw, a degree is mandatory and an experience in the public service field. He also is required to be a resident of the city he represents and is a resident of the 29th district of California. Tim Shaw says his advice would be that you can never start early enough to start gaining experience within the public service realm. Tim also thinks that education will get you very far and will make you more qualified. As someone who worked closely with Tim Shaw, I would be very interested in his position because he is always involved with the public and going in and out of the office to be active and involved directly with the public.

2. Because I interviewed Tim, I have come to find I respect him in so many ways, as a professional and also as as good person. Tim has a great work ethic and has a passion for public service and constituents, he always has a positive attitude and willingness to teach.

3. Leadership played a major role in my internship because most of the time I was the most experienced intern because I had been working there the longest. Therefore, when newer interns would come in and out throughout my time there, I would be in charge of teaching them the day-to-day tasks like how to answer and use the phone properly, teach them about case work, teach them how to do weekly clippings, and how to send e-mails. My supervisor's and co-workers display similar leadership roles with teaching interns like me how to do my tasks. I also refer to them when I am confused or lost about a case work situation.

Batch 3: Due 10/8

1.  Every Monday at the district office of Senator Bob Huff, the capitol office would hold a conference call with the district office for organizing and planning all things related to the Senator. We would go over many things such as scheduling meetings and appearances, legislative updates from the capitol, the monthly newsletter, casework, correspondence updates, outreach events, and any other reminders or comments. These meetings were very interesting, as it connected the district office with the capitol office.

2. I have attended many of the job fairs at the Downtown Phoenix campus where the job fairs usually focus on public sector jobs, these are interesting because there is one convenient place for potential employers who are seeking educated employees seeking jobs in the public sector. These job fairs that are hosted by career services are very helpful and informative, and as someone who graduates in spring, I feel as if I should take full advantage of career services.

3. My favorite thing was to work outside of the office, at events, specifically outreach events were the most fun. Outreach events were events that the Senator Huff staff would plan for the community. This summer I was able to work a few outreach events, and my first one was a Facebook event, where Facebook professionals came to speak to small business owners within the district to teach them how they can advertise their business through Facebook. This was interesting to meet so many small business owners from within the district that learned a lot of information from this event.

4. Another outreach event I got to work was a "Senior Scam Stopper" hosted in our City of Diamond Bar, at this event we invited all people, but focused on reaching out to the elderly crowd so they could learn about information and defensive mechanisms to avoid identity theft or fraud. It was a great turn out and it seemed to be very helpful and informative to the crowd.

Batch 2: Due 9/24

1. I interned at the Office of Senator Bob Huff, who represents the 29th District of California. This district includes parts of Orange County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County. As the Senate Minority Leader of California, the senator has a Capitol Office and a District Office, as an intern at the District Office I mostly dealt with constituents and acted as a "District Representative" to the people. As a District Representative I stood in for the Senator at public events such as ribbon cuttings or fundraisers, I also worked with constituents on more personal levels with constituents in case work, where constituents would refer to the senators office with their concerns. 

2. During the internship, I found that I enjoyed attending public events as a District Representative. I enjoy being able to talk to people, and hear their concerns and talk about the situations, opposed to dealing with case work, where most communication takes place over e-mail.

3.  I found that many people really value the effort of the Senator to appear or have representatives at events. It seemed like the constituents that were passionate about their beliefs and took their role as a citizen seriously, were the ones that expressed their concerns the most and showed up to events put on by the Senators. As a district representative I valued these people and it made my job enjoyable. 

4. A typical day in the office, would usually consist of going through newspapers and online articles to see what issues were making headlines in the district, so we could be aware of what was going on. This would usually take a few hours as I would read through the San Gabriel Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The Orange County Register, and The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. After this I would see what case work I could help resolve or help refer people to help. There was a lot of calls, e-mails, and writing that came along with Case Work.

Batch 1: Due 9/3

I am Brianna Patton, but many call me Bri. I am a senior here at Arizona State University earning my degree in Public Service Public Policy with a certificate in Public Leadership and Ethics. I will be graduating in May of 2016. 

I was able to do my internship with the California Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff who represents the 29th Senate District of California.

Through this internship I hope to achieve 3 goals:

1. To gain a better understanding of case work with constituents.
2. To gain a larger professional network.
3. To learn if this type of work is something I would like to do long-term.