During my internship with Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) office in Washington DC, I was expected to perform a variety of tasks: answering the phones, research, attending hearings/briefings, and giving tours of the Capitol to visiting South Carolinians. While we kept busy, my office recognized that their interns were usually not from Washington DC and therefore this experience was the first time the individuals had been able to live in the city. Because of this, my Staff Assistant, Dee, would schedule tours of different places in the city just for us to enjoy. During my time, I toured the Supreme Court, FBI, Pentagon, White House, Capitol Building, and the Capitol Dome.
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| Kara on her tour of the White House |
One Friday, Dee scheduled me and the other intern, Alix, to go on a White House tour and a tour of the Capitol Dome! I walked to Union Station to take the Metro to get to the White House; I got off a stop early by accident and had to walk for ages to get there. As I hurried to the White House, I was blown away by the diversity of Washington DC; I passed people dressed for professional jobs, going on a morning run, and still others looking like they were going to class. My musings were interrupted as I came into sight of my destination. Having no idea where to enter the White House, I had to ask one of the Secret Service where to go if I had a tour. This was intimidating, although the man was very helpful and kind, similar to the Capitol Police that I interacted with on a regular basis. I met Alix at the entrance, and we went in together. After going through multiple levels of security, we entered the East Wing. It was self-guided, but there were attendants there to ask questions if one wanted to. As we made our way through the public area, I remember I could not keep my eyes off the chandeliers; they were stunningly intricate. While the available area did not consist of much of the building, I was just so excited to be there. This building where so many decisions had been made throughout history, affecting millions of people over time.  |
| The view from the top of the Rotunda |
After the walk-through was over, Alix and I made our way to work and began going through voicemails and answering phone calls. As I went about my normal routine for work, my mind kept straying back to my experience of the morning. The grounds that I walked on that morning, John Adams also did hundreds of years ago. Wars had been strategized, catastrophes narrowly avoided, peace achieved on those grounds and within those walls. After lunch, some staff from our office and from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s office went on a tour of the Capitol Dome. Our tour guide led us up flight after flight of stairs until we reached an opening over the Rotunda. We were able to see down into the whole room and the Apotheosis of Washington up close and personal. Alix could not bring herself to look over the edge for fear of heights, but I could not get enough of the view; it was stunning. Every tour of the Capitol that I gave after this, I showed the picture I took over the edge of the railing.
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| Kara on top of the Capitol Dome |
We continued up a few more flights and came outside to a view of the city from the top of the Capitol. The first thing I noticed was the frigid wind, and after that, the gnats. I am still unsure as to why there were so many bugs up there, but it was surprising. Following these instant details, I took in the view of the city. It was beautiful. I could see for miles in any direction and the people and cars going about their lives in the city. Our guide gave us about twenty minutes to walk around, take pictures, do whatever we wanted (within reason). After we took some pictures, I began to watch the people on the ground, and was once again struck with not only the history of this stunning city, but also the importance of the government in the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans. As if in response to my inner monologue, I could hear chanting at a protest in front of the Supreme Court on one side of the dome, and on the other side, I could see preparations for the annual Walk for Life.
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The Apotheosis of Washington as seen
from the top of the Capitol Rotunda |
This is what I was working for: the population who all had needs to be met and thoughts they wanted heard. I felt humbled, my excitement to be there doing the work I was assigned was rekindled.The longer that I lived in the city, the more I came to appreciate the history of the Washington DC as well as the importance of the job I was doing. Some days were very draining: answering calls from angry constituents, walking back and forth along the office buildings for errands, reading about things I was not interested in for the staff. But all of these things needed to be done to keep the office running smoothly and to help South Carolinians. I met people with different passions and interests as I walked them through the tour or to their next meetings in another policymaker’s office, further impressing on me the diversity of the American population and the significance of a government meant to represent each one of them.
Kara Dorrity is a senior Political Science major with minors in Spanish and International Studies. She was accepted into the South Carolina Washington Semester Program and interned in Senator Lindsey Graham’s office during the Spring of 2020. She will be graduating in December 2020 and moving to El Paso, TX with her husband and getting a master’s degree in International Relations.
