240 Hours Later
What can you do in 240 hours? You can drive from Annapolis to San Francisco three times (roundtrip), you can watch the all the Star Wars films 11 times, or you could earn 6 college credits. I don’t think I could drive to San Francisco and back without stopping, I love Star Wars but watching 11 times straight would be taxing. But earning credits towards graduation seems to be the perfect way to spend 240 hours, and that’s what I did this past spring as an intern for the League of Women Voters Maryland state office.
Ashley & Brielle at a NationBuilder Event in DC
I have interned before. I got coffee, organized file cabinets, shredded old documents, and created new ones. But this internship was unlike anything I have ever participated in. I will be honest, when I walked into the state office two days before the start of session in January, I fully expected to get coffee orders again. What I didn’t expect was to be working one on one with Ashley. From managing social media accounts to planning donation drives, I pretty much did it all.
What can you learn in 240 hours? Enough to fill a few books! Managing a statewide organization is quite a task. The saying “Many hands make light work” applies perfectly to this conversation. Working with Common Cause Maryland, the ACLU of Maryland, to many other organizations on multiple bills, but especially Election Day Registration HB 532 (a bill number I will never forget) taught me it takes a lot of work to make a bill become a law. Meetings about pterodactyl costumes and googly eyed cut out districts on the steps of Supreme Court are something that will always make me smile.
Brielle at LWVMD's Legislative Day
But by far my favorite day and the day I sweated about for weeks was March 6th. Legislative Day. I got to meet so many Leaguers and help you enjoy a day in Annapolis. Seeing everyone talk to their representatives and then talk about it at lunch gave me the best feeling in the world. Putting on an event, which takes a lot of planning, printing and assembling and seeing people enjoy it makes all the hours of preparation worth it.
Surprisingly 240 hours can fly by. I enjoyed every fleeting second of interning for LWVMD. I have met so many amazing people who make this organization great, and who work so hard to make Maryland better than it already is. It was an honor and privilege to work with everyone. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
Brielle Rozmus,
2018 Spring Intern
