Written by Jameson Henderson Redden, Washington Internship Program, 2025
‘Say yes to everything, take every opportunity that you are given’
This sentence is something that all five of us Flinders University Washington Internship Program students currently interning on the Hill have come to agree with. Working in Washington D.C. for a member of Congress is unlike any other job in the world, and the sooner you realize that the easier it becomes to get the most out of your internship.
Hello again! My name is Jameson Henderson Redden, and I was an intern for Congressman Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (Texas 34) this past winter. As my fellow 2025 WIP interns Preston and Alyce have pointed out, a lot happened during our time in Washington, almost too much to remember!
Working on Capitol Hill really is unlike any other job in the world. Every day is different; everyone you meet is from a different background; everyone has a different purpose; everyone has their own interests’ and the 24-hour news cycle is happening right in front of your eyes. The biggest thing all five of us have come to realize in our time here is that seizing every opportunity you are provided—saying “yes!” to anything and everything, no matter how mundane—is the key to getting the most out of your internship.
One particular example from my time on the Hill of how the mundane can turn into the amazing came out of the regular intern task of couriering. Almost every day in the office, staffers would ask interns to run errands for them around Capitol Hill. These requests included delivering packages to the Senate offices, collecting letters from the Office of the Clerk, and even picking up a poster for our congressman to use on the House floor.
One morning one of my legislative assistants asked me to pick up two letters. She gave me the office numbers. I noticed that they were both for offices in the Capitol building, which was unusual.
Off I went.
After I had walked through the tunnels and up into the Capitol Crypt, I realized that the offices were those of current Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, and Democratic Minority Leader, Hakeem Jefferies!
I knocked on each of their office doors, which are right around the corner from each other, and waited nervously. To my amazement, Mike Johnson and Hakeem Jefferies were each in
their offices, busily working away at their desks! I said “Good morning” to each, and, in response, each nodded and said “Hello.” This really goes to show that any task, no matter how small and trivial, can lead to you seeing and meeting some incredible people on the Hill!
As part of our internship, we toured the White House, acquired Inauguration tickets, went on the House Floor and took a photo with our Member of Congress. There is one thing that this strange mix of activities all have in common: we had to take the initiative and ask staffers in our offices to arrange them for us. For staffers working on the Hill, visiting the White House, going to the house floor, getting photos with members of Congress, and even giving out inauguration tickets is quite literally just another day at the office. But for interns, they are opportunities that you must seek out. All of us found that, unless you ask to do these incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, your office might not realize you want to! So, do not be afraid to ask!
There is no such Thing as a “Normal Day” on Capitol Hill
On Capitol Hill nearly everything happens at the last minute. There will be last-minute votes, last-minute meetings, last-minute cancellations and also last-minute opportunities. The day President Trump chose to move the inauguration indoors, most of our offices stayed back a few hours to keep up with the calls and get on top of what was happening. The next week, when President Trump chose to cut funding to USAID, the task I was doing changed seven times in only 45 minutes based on new information staffers received. On the day of Robert F. Kennedy’s Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of Health and Human Services, my office received over 900 calls from constituents. The point is, take every day as it comes, enjoy every moment of the journey, and never let anyone tell you that today is going to be a normal day on Capitol Hill.