Hard work is a quality that has been ingrained in me since I was very young. Being raised by a single mother, I always admired the late hours she spent at the office, knowing that she was working so I could get a great education. At the boarding school I attended, Northfield Mount Hermon, every student had a required 20 hours of work job every week. Working on the farm, in the dining hall, and as a tour guide helped me realize that I relish opportunities where I am depended upon; to be responsible for a job getting done didn’t feel like pressure, it felt rewarding. Since I was 15 I worked in the community every summer, from Stop & Shop to Tedesco Country Club. This summer, I interned for the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus (MWPC). MWPC is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that encourages women to be politically active. Since its foundation in 1971, the core mission of MWPC has been to increase the number of women elected to office. I worked mainly in the sphere of their MWPC Political Action Committee (PAC) because many elections are going on this year. The MWPC PAC supports qualified women who are pro-choice and pro-equal-pay in local or statewide races. Some weeks I would assist MWPC’s Young Professional events, which attract many young, politically engaged women in Boston. Though I would work these events, usually at the registration desk, I did not miss anything going on! Seeing young women gathering for a book release, rally, or speaker, talking about their professional goals and their weekend plans, made me feel like I was getting a glimpse of my future.

Though the MWPC events were crash courses in presentation, communication, and networking, I learned even more key skills working in the office. Throughout May and June, MWPC’s two full-time employees needed information on every woman candidate in Massachusetts for the upcoming November elections in order to choose whom to endorse. From State Senate to Treasurer, State Auditor to Governor, all races in Massachusetts needed to be thoroughly researched. So for the first two months I learned how to follow MWPC’s research guidelines, by being concise yet detailed, in order to write 4-5 pages of research on numerous women candidates. Reading about where candidates stood on these issues and why helped shape my own views on these political issues. Overall, campaign research was the most challenging, but most fruitful task at MWPC internship.

I learned so much from my MWPC internship: how to write a press release, research candidates, write compelling blog posts about women’s issues, work with others to find quick solutions, delegate and divide work, be diligent and precise with data entry, and throughout work be personable and reasonable. But the curiosity and excitement I felt hearing Massachusetts’ leaders explain vital legislative reform that needed to be done taught me even more about myself, and what I want for my future.