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2010 Utah State Legislature Internship

Back in August I applied to participate in an internship offered by BYU. I was accepted and after taking a prep. course during fall semester, I started my internship at the Utah State Capitol.

Brief facts about the Utah State Legislature:

• The Legislative Session runs for 45 days (every state is different, for example, California's Legislative session is ongoing!). It generally starts the third week in January and adjourns the second week in March.
• The House of Representatives is composed of 75 members, each representing the district in which they live.
• The Senate is composed of 29 members, each representing the county in which they live.
• Each representative and senator is part of two or more committees. Bills must pass committee hearings in order to be voted upon in the Senate or the House.

Facts about my internship experience:

• I was randomly assigned to work with Representative Jim Dunnigan and Representative Jim Bird.
• I woke up between 6:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. to catch my carpool up to the capitol five days a week.
• Grant woke up with me to make sure I had breakfast and a lunch to take. He also made dinner about 3 times a week. 500 gold stars to you, babe!
  
• I arrived in Salt Lake everyday at 8:00 a.m.
  
• My day consisted of attending committee meetings, tracking my representatives bills, preparing committee binders, responding to emails, tabulating survey data, sending out weekly legislative highlights, setting up appointments, and anything else they wanted me to do. I was their right hand woman.
• I got home everyday around 6:30 p.m. Long day.

A few things I learned:

• Not all politicians are dishonest, un-ethical (bold statement when the stories of Killpack and Garn are taken into consideration, I know), power hungry, insert other descriptions of politicians here.
  
• Utah is very Republican. Wait, I already knew that.
• Utah Democrats don't stand a chance here, even though they have sound arguments. Wait, already knew that too.
  
• The process of a bill becoming law can take TONS of time and LOTS of work.
  
• There are more less informed citizens than informed citizens when it comes to state issues.
• It is possible to be involved and to make a difference in the world of politics.

It was a very rewarding internship, one that I will always remember and be grateful for.

The view from Rep. Dunnigan's Office

The corridor I passed many times a day

Outside the House Chambers. Rep. Dunnigan is in the back (tall, dark hair/suit coat).

Rep. Dunnigan speaking to a group of junior high kids.

A common sight. A rally in the rotunda.

The House Floor

A visit from Grant!

The session is over and now it's back to school, work at the beloved Copy Center, and skiing while the snow lasts!

Matrimonio!

Saturday, Dec 19th, 2009
Draper Utah Temple
9:00 a.m.

Temperature: FREEZING
Wind Chill Factor: -20, at least it felt like that
Morning Light: very, very bright

Needless to say, it was hard to get pictures with the conditions of the morning. Everyone was COLD and it was hard to get people together. There are tons of photos to sort through and edit, including photos of the reception. Hope you enjoy this random sampling and hopefully I'll get more up sooner than later (no promises, however.)

Two months ago today...

Happy two month anniversary, babe!
I've never been happier.

The Aftermath

The semester ended, the wedding is history, Mexico was 80+ degrees, Ouray was 17 degrees, the Grand Junction reception was splendid, and we are finally getting settled into our basement just in time for Grant to focus on school, work, and skiing, and me on my internship.
But before any blogs are posted about those, I've got to rewind. I realized I never put any engagement photos up. So here's a sampling of the photos we didn't use at the reception. Thanks again to Jackie and Jourdan for the photo shoots!