A day in the life of William Pace
Congressional Intern for
Congressman Eric Cantor, Deputy Minority Whip from Richmond
and Congressman Virgil Goode, 5th District, Virginia
by William Pace '10

In July 2006, I had the honor of being a congressional intern for Congressman Charles Bass of New Hampshire.  After this experience I knew I would choose political science as my major at Hampden-Sydney.  I also knew that I wanted to supplement my academic studies with additional real world experience on Capitol Hill. 

During my sophomore year I applied for internships with Congressman Eric Cantor, the Deputy Minority Whip and the representative for my home district in Richmond, and Virgil Goode, the House representative for the district that includes Hampden-Sydney.  It was a shock and a great honor when I was invited to intern for both congressmen during the summer of 2008.

During my internship with Congressman Cantor, I always tried to be one of the first people to arrive at his office in the Cannon House Office Building.  I would arrive at work before 8:30 a.m. and try to quickly read the local newspapers including The Washington Times, Politico, Roll Call, and The Hill before the office officially opened at 9:00 a.m.  All interns began each day at 9:00 by meeting with the intern coordinator.  The purpose of this meeting was to allocate the various daily tasks among the interns.  These tasks included answering phone calls, doing research on various bills, attending congressional hearings, running errands, and giving private tours of the U.S. Capitol.  Because of my love of history and political trivia I was often asked to give private constituent tours of the Capitol, even being asked to give private tours for several other congressional offices.  

Each year the House of Representatives has an art exhibit in the Capitol that showcases one piece of artwork from each congressional district in the country. I was asked to handle the Congressional Art Contest for Congressman Cantor’s office.  This task was one of my most memorable assignments because when I turned the winning artwork in to the contest officials, they deemed the painting to be too big.  Did I dare ask the artist if I could cut the painting to conform to the display rules, or simply choose not to allow the painting to be displayed?  I called the artist, explained the situation and asked if I could make the painting smaller.  The painting is now hanging in the Capitol Building exhibit area. 

I interrupted my internship to take advantage of the Hampden-Sydney Study Abroad Program in the United Kingdom.  When I returned, I started my second internship on Capitol Hill with Congressman Virgil Goode.  Unlike Congressman Cantor’s office, there were fewer interns working for Congressman Goode’s office.  Congressman Cantor usually had eight interns at any one time.  At the start of my internship with Congressman Goode, there were only three interns, including myself. 

Like my earlier internship, I would arrive at Congressman Goode’s office before 9:00 a.m.  My duties for the most part were the same as those I performed for Congressman Cantor.  Since Congressman Goode’s office did not use as many interns, I was also expected to answer constituent mail and do background research on various bills. 

For my final two weeks, I was the only intern in the office, so I had more work than the typical Congressional intern.  While the hours were long, I loved every minute.  I had two memorable tasks for Congressman Goode.  First, I was asked to deliver a political souvenir magazine called Keynoter to every House and Senate office (that is about 540 different offices).  Second, I was asked to create a database of contact information that detailed all government service contacts in the Fifth District.  This database will be used by staffers to better serve the constituents of the Fifth District.

The best part of my job was not just the 9:00 to 5:00 role of a summer intern, but being there.  If you love politics, being on Capitol Hill is ground zero.  During breaks and after work I would walk to the Capitol Building to watch the House and Senate debate and vote on various bills and resolutions.  One thing I noticed was that very few interns took the opportunity to watch the House and the Senate debate and vote on things that will shape the future of our country.
My ten-week internship on Capitol Hill was absolutely the best summer I have ever had.  I met so many people including many of the Representatives and Senators.   Despite what you may see on TV or read in the paper, most of the Senators and Representatives are very nice people and maintain a very cordial atmosphere despite often having very different points of view.  Even when the Republicans beat the Democrats by one run at the Congressional Baseball Game, the players from both parties had great fun.

My goal next year is to get a Senate internship.

Finally, I would like to thank the Sears family and Hampden-Sydney for helping make this internship possible.  Most Capitol Hill interns volunteer their time with little or no pay.  Without the Sears family support my internship would not have been possible.      
 

Summer 2008