Week Four

This week was unbelievably stressful. This was the week we interviewed in the various offices. This process was totally nuts. In my case, I interviewed in 12 offices in four days. I was really nervous. Most of the interviews asked similar and traditional interview questions. So eventually I had my lines down pat. However, some were a little off the wall. In one interview I was asked, “If I could put anyone on a postage stamp who would it be?” I was caught a little off guard, so I fell back to something I am comfortable with. “Tommy Lasorda” I answered. I probably should have said Martin Luther King, Jr. or John Brown, but I went with baseball. I found myself laughing at my flippant choice, and justified it by saying, “Tommy Lasorda is an ambassador of baseball, and baseball is America’s pastime.” The office happened to be filled with baseball fans, so I was off the hook. But, I thought it was funny.
The other nerve-racking part of the week was on Friday. Our list of offices preferences was due, and I really was not sure where I wanted to work. I wanted to work in a leadership office. As someone that loves politics I thought I would want to work with someone that was helping with the Democratic caucus’ decisions. I also wanted to work with someone on the Assembly health committee. Finally, I wanted to find an office I would be a good fit in. Unfortunately, I just could not figure out a way to find all three in one office. So I was fretting. I finally made my list based on prioritizing number three above all else. A constant message I got from former Fellows and other staff members was to make sure that there was a good rapport between the Fellow and the office. I started thinking about coming in to the office everyday and how it would be tough it wasn’t a warm environment. Knowing myself I realize that I flourish in friendly and laid back environments. I wanted to be happy at work and ultimately choose the place that I thought this would be most likely. Assemblymember Portantino’s staff reached out to me, and made me feel wanted. I think I made the right choice.