Postcards Home: Legislative intern Trevor Gutierrez has a moment of panic before the real work begins
by Trevor Gutierrez |
Trevor Gutierrez just before he left UAA for his internship in Sen. Lesil McGuire's Juneau office. (Photo by Philip Hall/University of Alaska Anchorage)
Hello everyone,
I am Trevor Gutierrez and I am working this legislative session for Sen. Lesil McGuire, an Anchorage Republican from District L. It was a long and hard process getting all of my required materials together to apply for this legislative internship. I waited a whole month to hear if I was successful and I was very grateful my hard work paid off so my college career could head in the direction I wanted.
How it happened
Glenn Wright, a professor of government who serves as statewide coordinator for the University of Alaska Legislative Internship Program from UAS, e-mailed us to say we would be getting many calls from either the Senate or the House from people interested in having us join their team. He was telling the truth! All those calls came at an extremely stressful time for most college students-finals week of fall semester.
Trevor Gutierrez, right, rubs shoulders with legislative leaders, Senate President Kevin Meyer, center, and Genevieve Wojtusik, left. (Photo courtesy Trevor Gutierrez)
Getting to know Juneau is a part of the legislative internship experience. (Photo courtesy of Trevor Gutierrez)
After getting about a dozen calls and many over-the-phone interviews, I was not getting any commitments. I started to stress out and wonder if this opportunity was meant to be. Every single time I thought I had landed a spot for my internship, something came up and it didn't work out. By December 21, I was getting pretty distraught with the whole situation and really starting to wonder if I'd get a position.
Gutierrez is not all work, no play. He visited Mendenhall Glacier, a popular nature spot for visitors to Juneau. (Photo courtesy of Trevor Gutierrez)
I was at home that night, talking to my family and having dinner when my phone rang. It was a staff member from Senator McGuire office, asking if I had committed to anyone yet. "No!" I said. "I have not!" The staffer proceeded to ask me If I would intern with them. To say I was happy is an understatement. I said, "Absolutely!" And so it was settled. Christmas came early for me!
Settling in
The rest is history, as they say. I flew down on Alaska Airlines and all my travel arrangements were great. However, when I landed in Juneau, I was terribly nervous. I'd never been here before and I knew not one soul. It felt like completely uncharted waters! For the record, it has all worked out well. I want to tell you that I love the office I am working in and the staff are so good to me and make me feel like I am really a part of the team!
This was written by UAA student and legislative intern Trevor Gutierrez. Here are links to Postcards Home from other interns: Mark Simon, German Baquero.
"Postcards Home: Legislative intern Trevor Gutierrez has a moment of panic before the
real work begins" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
