Patricia Moscoso
This summer, I worked as an intern in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. The Executive Office of the President has a number of offices that carry out President Obama’s work; my particular department was the liaison between the President and Congress. As you can imagine, this summer was all about working with Congress on health care, climate change, and Justice Sotomayor’s confirmation. I was fortunate to have a good balance of research work and administrative responsibilities on all of these issues. In addition to standard intern duties, I monitored the news and public statements to get a sense of where senators stood on President Obama’s health reform agenda, and conducted basic research into specific policies. I got a chance to work on healthcare in a much more substantive way than I could have imagined.
When I applied for the internship, I think having a background in ILR was a huge asset. During the phone interview, I had a good answer for every key political issue they brought up - health care, the Employee Free Choice Act, foreign policy positions - I felt completely prepared by the broad range of ideas ILR tackles. When any employer asks me in interviews what I am studying, it’s been so valuable to be able to say that at ILR, I’m not just learning the skills of an economist, political scientist, or a historian or a manager: I’m learning how these disciplines all work together and affect each other. Coming from a background in ILR that is so comprehensive, I think I was able to understand many of the debates in a much broader context than if I had just had a policy or econ or business background.
A personal highlight of the summer was being “in the trenches” as the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions marked up their version of the health care bill. Observing the minute details and give-and-take that shapes legislation was fascinating. I also had constant reminders that anything could happen on any day at the White House. One of my first days of training, I was sitting in a meeting room with my fellow Legislative Affairs interns waiting for our bosses. My friend looked up and saw Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Senior Advisor David Axelrod escorting then-Judge Sotomayor through the building. It was the day she was going to be nominated to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Our bosses came in five minutes later and said, “Change of plans, we have a new agenda for the summer!” Two months later, after I had spent an amazing summer helping with her nomination and health care, I was at her confirmation ceremony in the East Room, sharing in that amazing day for our nation. Those two experiences were like great bookends of an incredible summer. Her nomination was deeply and personally meaningful for me as a Latina and as an American – I think her story reaffirms so much of my faith in what opportunities our nation provides to hardworking citizens who lead with their courage, wisdom, and integrity.
I grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, so politics has always been a part of my life. My dad came to the United States from Ecuador in the late 1950s and has voted in every election since he became a citizen during the Kennedy years. My mother is engaged in policy work in the field of educational research. We watched the news together every night over dinner and actively discussed all of it. My parents approached their citizenship in different ways – one from action and one from academia – but together taught me that it was my responsibility to take an active role in the life of my country.
When it came time to apply to college, I wanted to find a program that would cultivate my skills to give back to our nation. My interests were, and still are, all over the map: American history and governance issues are my passion, but I also enjoyed other work in statistics and political science. I want to do policy work, but I never want to lose sight of its historical context or forget about the people we’re trying to help. ILR has been the perfect place for me: all of my interests are quite literally under one roof!