Dan's D.C. Doings

Capitol Hill, Daniel Kulick, DC, issue 16, Campus Life - By Daniel Kulick on Thursday, February 2, 2012 - 02:12

What can be said about Capitol Hill right now? I can think of a few things: the political brinkmanship has constipated the entire political process, the extremism of candidates and far-siders has become mainstream or the frustrating truth that no politician sticks to their political promises once they take office. That’s just a few.

But what about all the other people working in the government? Since my time here in D.C. with the Washington Semester Program at American University, I had the chance to meet with Congressional Representatives, work in the Justice Department or the Department of Defense, Supreme court clerks and members of the Congressional Research Service.

These are the people that don’t get recognized in media coverage for their good work, behind the scenes. n my opinion so far, they are the most important, most intelligent people in the middle of the action here in D.C. I’ve seen so many, been to so many speeches I sometimes forget how exactly I got here.

My seminar professor is a retired Congressional Chief of Staff and former attorney. His past with The Hill is well known and respected. His professional experience is invaluable, and I wish I could bring his expertise back with me to Whittier. Our faculty in Whittier are amazing at their jobs, but seeing their experience in action really brings things into perspective.

One of the things I love about Professor Bergerson is his wonderful retellings of his experiences in the Army or working at the Department of Defense. Now I can say actually being in the places where experiences happen as they are retold to you is truly a gift. I can already tell that leaving D.C. will be a hard transition after all the attention, information and activity happening in front of me is gone.

But that’s okay, because now I realize just how important it is to those of us that have experienced it before, like many of our faculty and professionals back home. When someone tells you a story about their experiences in their career, you listen, because one day you might see it for yourself.