This summer, I mentored with Mrs. Janis Rice, head of the local Parks and Rec department, by working at several fundraising events with the Upland Volunteens who are a volunteer group based in my city sponsored by the Parks and Rec department. Unfortunately, my college courses meant that I was only able to hit just above the bare minimum of hours for my volunteering which left me with several lingering questions. It is for this reason that I intend to diversify my contacts in the coming year by writing to several different public officials to acquire a more varied range of contacts to base my upcoming senior project around. This summer also allowed me to better envision what my senior project will be structured around and the actual layout of it.
1. (K1. (Know) Using google doc (drive) link a log of specific hours and a description of your dutie.
Included below is my list of volunteer hours over the course of the summer. Link:
Mentorship
2. What is the contact name & number of where you volunteered?
I have volunteered since prior to Freshman year with the Upland Volunteens, headed by Upland Parks and Rec Director Janis Rice, who can be reached by contacting the number below.
Mentor Name: Janis Rice
Local Office Number: (909) 931-4281
3. (Need to know) What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience? List them.
As an unfortunate result of the limited amount of time that I put towards volunteering this summer, I was left with several questions regarding the larger process of beginning a career in politics.
My mentor was primarily focused upon maintaining her own subdepartment, and I wonder if local political skills are transmissible towards my federal hopes.
The influence of money and Uplands lack of it were significant factors which I noticed during my brief time working, are these limiting factors prominent elsewhere?
As a small institution, the parks and rec department holds little sway, and but is that shared
Although political networking skills are invaluable, how does one develop those skills?
My mentor's decision to apply for their job was rooted in viewing it as a job, but I wonder if that is a shared notion among higher echelons of government.
Interpretive
4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
The single most valuable piece of information that I gathered from the experience was the influence of networking in establishing working relationships and the importance of presentation and favor towards garnering support.. Expanding on that, a major recurring lesson I learned was the importance of maintaining positive ties in the hopes that such endeavors will garner positive attention in the future.This seems a positive trait, and the selective process of choosing who to favor in hopes of winning their mutual support is an aspect of politics with which I am personally unfamiliar. Seeing the efforts taken to placate sponsors was a learning experience for me as to the day to day procession of local politics.
Applied
5. What is your senior project topic going to be? How did what you did help you choose a topic? Please explain.
I have decided that my senior project will focus on the question, “What is the best way to enter state politics?” (Working question) as it seems a balanced intermediary between low level local politics and the Federal Government. This topic seems a decent choice for crafting a senior project around as it has the potential to involve a variety of excellent sources which can help me beyond just the school system. In addition, I can easily envision a hypothetical presentation that can be crafted around this topic that would include an activity. One reason that I selected an emphasis upon a state level position (Governor or District Representative) is that it works as an intermediate step between the low level bureaucracy which I am familiar with and the Federal government system which I want to join. In particular, from my dialogues with my mentor, I learned of the importance which money held on a local level, and I think it would make a fascinating subject of study to learn of the experience that higher levels of government have on this subject. Ultimately, my projected project will attempt to be a comprehensive analysis of the various methods and starts which people have used to enter the political realm, the feasibility of paths with which a concerned citizen may plausibly undertake to accomplish that, and a projected analysis of current political trends which may influence a candidates viability or an applicants hope to get a job in government.
