During the fall semester of 2016, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at the Ohio Statehouse. I worked in the office of the Senate Minority Caucus.
The Ohio Statehouse, Columbus, Ohio
It was a noteworthy time to be interning with any governmental body, especially one in Ohio. Because of the then upcoming elections in November, the Senate was preparing for “lame duck.” After the election, bills would be rushed through the legislative process, and every legislator and staffer would be trying to make the most of the end of the legislative session. At the same time, Ohio was experiencing a deadly opioid crisis with repeated calls for the state legislature to address it.
As a result of this unique combination of circumstances, I got my first opportunity to do policy research. The Caucus’ Deputy Chief of Staff recognized my interest in public health and policy. Consequently, I spent much of the semester researching anything and everything related to the opioid crisis. It started with gaining a working understanding of what was happening in Ohio and the series of events that had preceded the current crisis. From there, I helped to examine what other states were doing, contacted locals doing great work in their communities, and helped to develop a potential funding framework.
Not only was this internship an incredible experience, it addressed two important G.O.A.L.S. Because much of my work focused on research with a vague outline of what I was supposed to accomplish, I gained an appreciation for Original Inquiry. While in many ways my research was guided by the needs of the Caucus staff, I had the freedom to explore different ways the others had addressed similar policy issues and look at ways in which those potential solutions could be applied in Ohio. Additionally, this internship spoke directly to Academic Enrichment. While my majors in Public Health Sociology and Public Affairs are complementary, there are few opportunities to bridge the gap between them in a class setting. This is partially due to their being based in two different colleges. Yet, in reality, the subjects are closely intertwined. My work gave me the opportunity to see how closely public health and public affairs principles work together to address the needs of individuals and communities.
The most important things that I learned from this internship, however, weren’t from research. Instead, I gained an understanding of what it means to work in an office everyday. It takes internal motivation to keep digging through hundreds of pages of legislation and writing reports. It’s not easy. Yet, I also learned that I love it. The knowledge that something that you find – whether it’s a program, contact, or idea – could be implemented to one-day help someone is incredible. In some ways, it creates a huge amount of pressure. Yet, it makes the sometimes frustrating work incredibly rewarding.