Students get involved in government over summer

As junior Megan Yen read about Gary Locke, the first Chinese American to be elected governor in the United States, and Bobby Jindal, the first Indian American governor in U.S history, she realized that she would like to join their ranks or work for them. Through a program called Vision New America, she realized that she can begin to carve her political career.

Vision New America is a program that promotes civic participation of underrepresented groups, such as Asian Americans, in the American government. It takes place every summer, with training starting early April, and internship at a government official’s office starting in early June and ending late August.

Yen decided to join this program because she wanted to get involved with the community over the summer.

“Since I knew that I wasn’t interested in math or science, I thought that this would be a good program to take,” Yen said. “I hope that I will be able to increase my leadership skills, see what it’s like to work in an elected official office, and experience what civic engagement really is. I’d like to learn more about politics and policies that I care about.”

Currently, Yen is in training, learning about the history of Asian Americans and how to act in a professional environment such as a government office.

Through this program, Yen will be placed into a local, state or federal government office, probably San Jose City Council member Pete Constance’s office.

“[Constance] is in charge of West San Jose, which is pretty cool because I used to live there,” Yen said. “I’m really looking forward to getting involved somewhere that means something to me.”

As an intern, Yen will be doing a variety of jobs from filing papers to answering phone calls from constituents. As a member of VNA, Yen will be required to do one large community service project with other interns and register at least 15 new voters.

Last summer, sophomore Maggy Liu was also part of the VNA program.

“I really enjoyed meeting all the other interns and all the people that VNA brought in, such as different government officials,” Liu said.

Liu interned at California State Assembly member Jim Beall’s office and plans to return again this summer. Beall represents the 24th Assembly District, which includes some parts of Santa Clara, Saratoga and Los Gatos.

“I had a pretty positive experience and I really liked it,” Liu said. “It’s not like learning about government in a classroom. You’re really there and you feel like you’re a part of history.”

As an intern at a government official’s office, Liu was required to act professionally.

“Because you’re representing the government, you have to be on top of things all the time and watch what you say,” said Liu. “You have to dress professionally all the time and be very patient.”

Liu’s professional attitude and maturity surprised her peers and supervisors and allowed her to become well respected within the office.

“I was really happy that I was taken seriously because I feel like I have never been taken seriously before,” Liu said. “Although I was a freshman when I did this program, I felt that they still treated me as equally as the college students.”

Junior Carolynn Choi, who interned at the South Bay Labor Council in the elections department this past summer, added that the transition to such a professional environment can be difficult, as typical high school students have not been exposed to that type of setting before.

“At first it was kind of hard, but I got used to it by the end of the summer,” Choi said. “It’s completely different from a high school environment and it’s not like working at a restaurant or at other jobs.”

Although the first day as an intern can be intimidating, Liu advises that all students need to do is to calm down and not panic.

“Remember that people that work in the government are humans too. They aren’t robots,” said Liu. “It’s OK to just relax and be yourself.”

While at first students faced some difficulty adjusting to the new environment, the experiences they had while interning at government offices truly piqued their interest in the subject and inspired them to get more involved in the field.

“The amount of dedication the people in the office have really surprised me,” Choi said. “They work such long hours, but they always have a smile on their faces. I hope that one day I can be like them.”