对于两个来自小城市的学生来说, getting dropped off to intern for a semester in the bustling state capital of New York was a bit of a culture shock.

“I was a little bit starry-eyed when I got to Albany,Brevin奥斯汀说, a senior political science major from Shinglehouse, 宾夕法尼亚州(人口1),108). "我的天啊! I’m in the New York state capital working for an assemblyman from New York City.”

但是奥斯汀和哈德利·汤普森, a double major in journalism and political science from Olcott, 纽约(流行). 1,241), took only a couple weeks to get acclimated to an experience they both deemed invaluable to helping them determine their potential career paths.

“I come from a small town, and suddenly I’m walking past (Gov.) Kathy Hochul, so it was a bit of a shock at first,汤普森说. “但最终, when I walked down the press hallways in the Assembly chambers, 那正是我的拿手好戏. 我绝对不想成为一名政治家, 但在经历了这一切之后我才意识到, this is an arena where I could do good work communicating important issues, 是否 作为说客或记者.”

Austin, too, admitted that pursuing life as a politician isn’t a likely career arc.

“There were some things I saw that left me a little more jaded,奥斯汀说。, whose interest in political policy was piqued in the wake of the Sandy Hook mass school shooting in 2012. “But I also saw enough things that made me more optimistic, things that make me want to pursue working on public policy.”

Political science faculty encouraged Austin and Thompson to apply — via a written essay — for the internship, 是什么让他们获得了一个学期的学分. 汤姆Buttafarro, the university’s director of Government and Community Relations, was “a big help” in securing housing for the students, 他们说.

The New York State Assembly Intern Committee sponsors the 会话实习 每年一月开始. It offers college students a chance to participate in state government and the legislative process through a well-structured learning experience. 除了日常的立法工作, interns are assigned research and administrative responsibilities in an Assembly office.

Only coincidentally were Thompson and Austin assigned Assembly members from New York City — although at polar opposite ends of the experience meter.

Austin was assigned to the office of Kenny Burgos (D-Bronx), 他于2020年首次当选，年仅29岁. Thompson was assigned to William Colton (D-Brooklyn), first elected in 1997 after a 30-year career as a teacher. 他是77年.

两位同学的见证都令人耳目一新. Neither man, 他们说, is in the political arena for power or money. They simply want to serve the people in their districts.

“Mr. Colton loves what he’s doing and that was such an inspiration to see someone who cares that much and likes their job, 即使在政治两极分化的情况下,汤普森说. “There is so much focus on legislation at the federal level, and then you come here and see politicians doing very granular things for their district.

“Colton was telling me how he made it possible that at voting booths they had to have a Russian translator because they had such a large Russian-speaking population in his district. Those niche, very personal politics were refreshing to see.”

Burgos, in fact, never wanted to run for office, Austin said. 人们不得不说服他参选.

“He told me a number of times, ‘This isn’t a career for me. 这关乎公共服务，’”奥斯汀说. “He’s not in it for the job security or for the power. 他只是想为社区服务.”

Knowing nothing but vitriolic partisanship since they were young teens, 尤其是在联邦层面, both students were genuinely surprised at the collaborative nature they witnessed during their time in Albany.

“I’d say about 90% of the time, you didn’t see that partisanship. 我想一般人, 如果他们在大会上呆了一天, 会对他们相处得如此之好感到震惊吗,奥斯汀说. “There would be a bill every now and then that would result in some lively debate, 但即使他们不同意, they were cordial to each other after a decision was made.”

The students were primarily responsible for keeping things running smoothly at their Assembly member’s district offices in Albany, 从每天早上打开办公室, 接电话，回复邮件, to meeting with lobbyists looking for support for a particular piece of legislation.

他们说，这种互动是无价的.

“As much as there is this political façade around politicians and lobbyists, I realized how important their work is and how important communication and people skills are to working in this environment,汤普森说.

奥斯汀同意.

“What I learned more than anything is how important it is who you talk to and how you talk to them and how you build a collaborative structure between people,奥斯汀说. “I also learned that even though there are 150 members, each of them doesn’t have an equal say in how things get done.”

SBU students interested in the 会话实习 can contact 汤姆Buttafarro, university liaison to the Assembly internship program, at tbuttafa@bethpeters.net，或博士。. Mary Rose Kubal, Department of Political Science internship coordinator, at mkubal@bethpeters.net.

Students do not need to be political science majors or New York state residents.

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