Saturday, May 30, 2009

Week 2

Week 2 was a great week. Congress was not in session this week due to the Memorial Day holiday, so from a legislative stand point things were pretty low key. Low key would be an understatement in describing how busy the week went, however. Steve King has been in the media many times the past few weeks discussing a variety of issues: Nancy Pelosi and the CIA, gay marriage in Iowa, investigating ACORN, among other things. This has led to a large number of correspondence from constituents and others from around the country--some positive, some negative.

Confidentiality precludes me from getting into the specific details of the constituent casework issues I handle; but I can tell you that there are many people struggling with a whole host of issues and many people unhappy with the state of the economy and their livelihood. Rather than letting people mire in THEIR misfortune, it goes a long way to realistically encourage people and lift their spirits. I'm all for the individual, the entrepreneurial spirit, and the exceptionalism of this country. And let me tell you, it is that mindset--not government mandate and fiat--that is going to lift us out of this downturn.

While I am not building an orphanage for starving AIDS patients halfway around the world, there are people struggling even in white, Christian conservative Iowa. This internship experience has gone far in helping me realize the importance of focusing on local issues, whatever your locale happens to be. It isn't always about aspiring to be a passport-stamping globetrotter, not that those service projects are any less worthwhile. Service is not an event, an activity, or a trip; service is a lifestyle. Honing my people skills and working to be kind, caring, and honest with people in every interaction I have has been one of things I've learned over the past few years, and it has been amazing putting that into play wherever I go.

My internship in Washington has been no different. In fact it has made it harder...in a good way. Rather than being able to deal with people face to face, much of my time throughout the day is spent on the phone and computer, talking with constituents, handling their concerns and struggles with federal, state, and local agencies, etc. It has been a very formative experience learning how to put that M.O. into play without being able to put my interpersonal touch on it. I do get my fair share of dealing with people face to face, however. I serve as the "face" of the office; I'm often the first person that people see when they come into the congressman's office; I hope that I make rather than break their experience.

Well, I've rambled on more than my summer of service funding requires (haha). I am very glad to hear about the experiences, struggles, and triumphs of other SoS-ers. Keep up the good work and keep working to make your summer of SERVICE into a LIFESTYLE OF SERVICE.

P.S.--Since Congress was out of session this week, we were able to dress down a bit. Jeans and a shirt or polo is a nice break from a stuffy suit and tie. Since this was the most irrelevant part to my post, I saw it fit to footnote it! Take care everyone!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Summer Of Service: Week 1

Front Porch
New Dining/Comp. Lab

Lounge Area


The first week of my summer of service went well! For the first three weeks I'll be helping out with the planning and hosting of the the SLI conference here on the Stetson campus. Myself and the other committee members met at the beginning of the week to discuss what tasks would be expected of us. A little later in the week we were divided into three smaller groups: Social Activities, Workshops, and Service Planning. I was apart of Social Activities and Workshops. These smaller groups were used to discuss issues in detail and to assign specific duties to individuals. During the time after our first meeting, but before we were split into groups, I didn't have any prior SLI responsibilities. So, I spent a great deal of this time beautifying the CSL for the conference. There was, and still is, a lot of work to be done. The same goes for the SLI planning. But we have been making strides in both areas! We are definitely on our way to having a great a final project.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

SLI Update

Things are going VERY well around here in terms of SLI prep work :0). We simply cannot wait for our 360 guests to begin arriving from around the country. From my office here in the CSL, I can hear sounds of excitement as planning groups hammer out details and "spring cleaners" shift furniture. Just as a side note - the CSL looks awesome now that the piles accumulated this past school year have been sorted through! Special thanks to Lauren, Esther, Maggie, Angie, Anjum, and Rodney who are here quite a bit helping out :0). Another recent project I am still excited about was our partnering with PR to write a press release on the upcoming festivities. Our very own SLI conference is in the news! Click here to read more about all that we have accomplished. Well, that's all the updating I have for now. It's time to begin working on the pool party & casino night, the handful of service projects we'll be offering, and some details regarding workshops. Happy summer everyone!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

First week

My first week at the Boys and Girls Club has been amazing. The kids are warming up to me quite quickly. They keep thinking that I am the new coach or art teacher because those are the two areas that I have been seen in the most. At my site, I will serve as a Junior Camp Counselor throughout the summer. Using my sports experience, the majority of my time will be spent in the gym with the kids. Coach Sly, who is another supervisor of mine, is completely awesome. He always gives me opportunities to work with the kids one on one. As he says, he is letting my "creative juices flow". I have already created games that the kids love and we are going to incorporate them into the summer camp. Right now, I am back at school for the next two weeks helping out with SLI. Maggie and I are working hard on the wiki that we have created and I think that it is going really well. I am excited and nervous for SLI, but I know that it will all be worth it once the schools get here. So I guess that is all for now. I hope that everyone is having a great time with their Summer of Service. Zach- you are right in your element : ). B- Love, Tina.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Week 0.5 and Week 1

My internship is with the office of Congressman Steve King, a Republican from the 5th District of Iowa. The 5th District, which is my home district, encompasses the western third of the state. My congressman is pretty much the coolest guy ever. I'm a big fan and am humbled to have this opportunity. I began work on Thursday, May 14th so I now have a week and a half under my belt. I have a variety of responsibilities--constituent correspondence including phones calls, letters, emails, and faxes; writing, edit, formatting, printing, enveloping (yes I just made that into a progressive tense verb), and mailing various documents; leading constituent tours of the Capitol complex; and any other conceivable project the staff can think of including buying the congressman cigars for his birthday. The people I work with are some of the most intelligent, insightful, and kind people I've ever met. It has only been a week and a half, but I know that this experience will go by too quickly and will be one I won't soon forget or unappreciate.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Summer of Service Kick-Off

Summer at last! Now that it is mid-May and exams are a distant memory, there is finally time for the pool, pleasure reading, catching up on newly released movies, and ... community service :0).

This blog will serve as a place for each of you Summer of Service volunteers to record the progress made and experiences had in your respective communities. We ask only that you write us one virtual postcard each week spent in service. This means that you must make seven entries in total ... Think of it as a part of your service experience and write about anything! We want to celebrate in your victories, encourage in your struggles, and grow together as individual adventures unfold. Pictures are not required, but certainly make the experience more enjoyable for all :0). I promise to join in the fun and regale you out-of-towners with Stetson stories as my year of service with Americorps launches this summer.


Much B-Love,
Amanda