Looking Back, Moving Forward

By Akul Umamageswaran

It’s hard to believe that our NJLP Summer Fellowship has come to an end! It may have only been six weeks, but these six weeks have given me some of the best opportunities and experiences I could’ve asked for. I, along with my fellows cohort, interned with councilmen, Members of the New Jersey Senate and Assembly, and for one of us, even with the office of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. And if this wasn’t enough, we had a weekly speakership series to supplement what we learned from our internships. Each week, speakers from various different backgrounds and professions came in to enlighten us with explanations of how politics related to campaigning, law, government, activism, and more. I could write pages and pages of what I personally got out of these, but instead, in this blog post, I want to share with you the three major important ideas that I took away from my NJLP experience overall.

Networking. Networking is probably one of the most important aspects of politics, as I’ve learned. In politics, you meet new people every day. Though it may seem at first that the day you meet them will probably be the only interaction you’ll ever have with them, you really never know. You might find yourself a couple months later needing their guidance or their connections. If you meet a tech mogul at a networking event one day and then find yourself a year later founding an internet start-up, you may wish you could talk to that person again. For this very reason, I realized that it was important for keep in contact with the people I met, starting at an early age. Get connections. Have mentors. Form a group of people that you can reach out to if you need help. I made sure to get into the practice of following up with each and every speaker, and I know that someday, doing so will pay off.

Being Proactive. Especially when interning, I’ve learned that being proactive is very important. You will never make a good impression if you do not exceed expectations. Merely doing what you are told and nothing more will not make you stand out. I’ve learned that it’s important to come up with ideas on your own. Don’t be afraid to pitch them to your advisors. Even if you “bug” them with more and more new ideas or countless requests for more work to do, it is only going to make you look better. If you were to go back to an advisor needing a recommendation or something of that nature, chances are, if you were proactive, he or she is more likely to remember you and more likely to give you that good recommendation you want.

Teamwork. As I’ve seen in my speakership series, politics is nothing without teamwork. It takes several people of all different jobs and fields coming together and working with each other every day for our country to run. From our nation’s President to our city’s council, politics operates on multiple different levels. I’ve learned that no one level is more important than any other. Through the speakership series, I’ve gotten insight from people of all these different positions, and have realized that it’s important to get to know people of all backgrounds.

Looking back, these are only a few of the many, many valuable lessons I have learned through my experience with NJLP. As a South Asian, participating in the program truly did open my eyes to the issues of our nation and gave me necessary exposure to how the community is run. I am now more enthusiastic than ever to get involved in American politics, even if I don’t purse it as a career. Now, though I am looking back at our experiences, I am also moving forward and have a good skillset now to proceed forward in what’s next to come.

My Invaluable NJLP Fellowship Experience

By Indhu Kanakaraj

As my time with Assemblywoman Angela McKnight’s office reaches its culmination, I begin to reflect upon this experience. It seems unfathomable that my routine no longer consists of boarding the bus at its scheduled time and arriving at the front door of the office within exactly twenty-four minutes. However, I absorb all the lessons I have learned and values I have gained within this short period of time in hopes that they will benefit me for years to come.

As a science major in my school, I applied to the New Jersey Leadership Program as an opportunity to gain insight into the field of politics. I had been curious about pursuing law for several years and I hoped that this internship would be beneficial in determining if this was an area in which my interests lie. The moment I stepped foot into Assemblywoman McKnight’s office, I was aware that this experience would affect me in various ways. I developed connections and unbreakable bonds with my fellow interns, supervisors, and the assemblywoman herself. I thoroughly executed tasks as instructed by my supervisor, and these not only strengthened my work ethic but gave me a sense of professionalism. The days seemed to fly by, and I was eager to make the most of my time there.

Having been exposed to family and friends with cancer throughout my life and also being Treasurer for the American Cancer Society club at my school, I began to wonder if there was any way in which I could further invest my time in this cause while making a difference within the community. After much pondering, I formed a clear plan and then approached the assemblywoman with my project. My idea was to collect donations such as toys, books, games, hats, and scarves and then give them to hospitalized children with cancer during the winter holidays. The assemblywoman was thrilled about this, and she allowed me to independently execute this through the office. I designed flyers and printed them out, made calls to businesses to request donations, and started to get the word out. Things ran smoothly, and I will return in November to help hang up flyers in Bayonne and Jersey City. I mainly look forward to December when I will join the assemblywoman in going around and brightening up the faces of kids during the holidays.

Another component of the NJLP, the Speakership Series, has also been beneficial to me personally, as hearing the experiences of the speakers pushed me to strive for greatness and find the power that exists within myself. The topic that resonated with me the most was “Non-profits and Activism.” It was touching to listen to the stories about the hardships and obstacles that the speakers had overcome throughout their lives, but also to know that those experiences shaped them into the people they are to this day. Ms. Kavita Mehra’s story of how she conquered adversity such as racial discrimination and physical abuse truly inspired me. To know that she overcame such obstacles and now assists children who may face similar issues provides me with hope that I can one day make a difference in the world as well. I am capable of beginning now on a smaller scale, and I hope to involve myself in a non-profit in the future. It is worthwhile for everyone to pursue an activity or a cause meaningful to them with the sole focus on helping to improve the lives and conditions of others.

Being a Fellow in the New Jersey Leadership Program has made me feel like I am a part of something special. I have gained confidence and the willingness to accomplish my goals thanks to my experiences at the office as well as the words of wisdom given to us by the speakers. I am sure that this journey will serve to have an everlasting impact on my mindset as I navigate my way throughout this world, and I am satisfied to have spent this summer in the most productive and best way possible.

Week 5 - Experiences are the Best Teachers

By: Arnav Jain

I have lived in South River, New Jersey for my entire life. It’s a small town in Central Jersey, and we have a comparatively small governing body. We have an “everyone knows everyone” sort of atmosphere. Growing up, I was actively participating in community events. I’ve always want to get involved in our local government, and understand the politics and daily operations. Frankly, it was only something I could only dream of, until I heard about this program, New Jersey Leadership Program. I value experiences over many things, and decided I should join this program to gain a further understanding of politics in general. While other kids my age are playing Xbox, I thought this would be a great way to make use of my summer as well. As I was younger than the aimed demographic for this program, instead of working at an office like many of our other fellows do, we would work on a project, or perhaps multiple projects. Our ultimate goal is to have a proposal on an idea we have to improve our town.

Me, and two other fellows are interning for South River Councilman Ryan Jones. At the very beginning of the week, we organized a meet-up at our local Starbucks. We introduced ourselves and he explained to us how our local government functioned. It was quite interesting learning how our local ordinances come into action. We also discussed what we had planned for this summer, working on short term project all the way to long term projects.

We followed up with a conference call discussing various topics. We spoke about the effects Pokémon Go has on people our age, influencing other kids our age to get involved within’ the government, attending the National Night Out, and most importantly, ideas on how to further improve our local community park. I very quickly learned that part of discussing new ideas is looking at many different perspectives, and all possible pros and cons In addition, in order to execute our ideas, we had to gain contact that would help in our operations. As this is more of a learning experience, Mr. Jones recommended us to read a few books to further our knowledge on government operations. The books were Start-up City, Tactical Urbanism, Walkable City, Completing Our Streets, and Places of the Heart. After our discussion, we decided it would be a great idea to familiarize ourselves better with the park we were dealing with, so we went there almost every day asking a multitude of people what change they would like to see in our park. Not only was this very effective, but I learned the best way to address a need is to confront the people who will be directly affected by the change.

As our week came to an end, I looked back and thought what an interesting week I had. I’ve learned so much and experienced quite a bit. Not many kids my age get the opportunity to work alongside a Councilman, especially that Mr. Jones is very kind and highly informational. Now, I was looking forward to this week’s Speakership Series. But this was no ordinary Speakership Series, it was “Non-profit and Activism” themed. I can especially relate to non-profits since I am a Youth Leader in one. And frankly, activism just sounds very intriguing.

Our first speaker, Mrs. Nadia Hussain, was wonderful. Her enthusiasm in her speech truly lit the room up. She talked about how she saw a need for something, and implemented a non-profit. She also mentioned how she is against what she thinks needs to stop, domestic violence. Our second speaker, Ms. Kavita Mehra was truly inspirational. Experiences from her young years shaped her to who she is today. She also believes that failure is a way to learn, and can shape who you become. Last, but not least, our final speaker, Mr. Justin Braz introduced himself as the Executive Director of the New Leaders Council. This non-profit organization trains and mentors civic leaders of tomorrow through a very rigorous course.

Personally, I think all of these speakers were amazing in every aspect of their speeches. They truly inspired me to expand my expeditions in non-profits and stand up for what I think is wrong. As this was the last speakership event, I want to thank everyone who was involved in making this a reality for us, as it has certainly left an impact on me.

Week 4 - Reaching New Horizons

By Shreya Marathe

I was born in West Windsor, New Jersey and have lived there for all 18 years of my life. For as long as I can remember, we’ve been represented by the Democratic Party. A list of our elected officials is covered in blue. When I first became interested in politics in high school, I attended Model Congress conferences at several universities. Every liberal bill faced silent opposition and every conservative bill only had the support of those who pitied the author. Tufts University, where I just finished my first year of college, is not unique to this trend. Democrats flood social media while the Tufts Republicans club consists of only a handful of people brave enough to voice their political beliefs. Conservatives have been constantly shut down at every part of my life.

In fact, even when I got this internship, my peers were skeptical at best. Despite the fact that I intern for a nonpartisan office, most couldn’t stomach the idea of me interning for a Republican Governor. But being surrounded by people with different political beliefs has been one of the most eye-opening experiences. For the first time in my life, I’m able to engage in discussions where people see the world differently and try to understand issues from their perspective.

Every day at work, we work on something different. One day we might be writing a brief on a specific mayor or municipality. On another day, we might be making phone calls to urge constituents to come out to a public forum and voice their opinions. But regardless of what we’re doing, the conversations we have between tasks teach me just as much as the tasks themselves. We’re able to debate topics ranging from abortion to health care to race relations. Not a single intern has the same set of beliefs as another, and yet we’re able to discuss conversations in a civil manner. I hope to be able to have such insightful conversations with individuals that may disagree with me throughout my life.

Those are the same lessons we’re taught by the exceptional speakers which take time out of their Saturday mornings to speak to us. Last week Union County Acting Assistant Prosecutor Leonard Jones, Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, and Councilwoman Sapana Shah came and gave us advice about how to work in law or politics. All three are exceptional lawyers and politicians, but had to work extremely hard to overcome the obstacles they faced as minorities in a white dominated field. They inspired us to push past these obstacles to achieve higher goals. This past Saturday we also had the opportunity to speak with Kristian Stout, a Republican, and Satish Poondi, a Democrat. Both of them would make great elected officials, but both declined to run for office in the future. Their message was one of the most important ones I’ve learned this summer. Even if you can’t find a politician you completely agree with, doesn’t mean you can’t be involved in politics. There should always be issues that you care about and there are always ways to work hard to achieve some change. Although my internship will be over this week, I’ll remember that message long after this summer is over.

Week 3 - House of Cards

By Aayush Gandhi

The concepts discussed in the first speakership series were fresh in my mind as I got ready to start my new week of internship at State Senator Patrick Diegnan’s office. I started off my week by reading news clippings through the Office of Legislative Services Application (OLS). Following that, I entered some constituent email details into an excel spreadsheet to keep record of constituent concerns and requests. I then prepared a New Jersey Boards, Authorities and Committees vacancy list for the Senator’s reference. Wednesday was a surprise as Senator Diegnan visited the office to attend two meetings, both of which were very informative and compelling. I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to attend the meetings with him and constituents.

The first meeting was with a business representative who wanted to organize literacy workshops for senior citizens in the district. The constituent was well prepared and well informed about the topic and we came to the conclusion that we would provide him with information about senior centers in the district. The second meeting was to implement a dual language immersion program in New Jersey schools. The constituent also informed us about the seal of biliteracy and other programs in the education space. Senator Diegnan promised to follow up with her and conduct further research on the program. I also followed the advice given by the speakers from the first speakership series and became a proactive intern and tried to ask meaningful questions to my supervisor and Senator Diegnan’s Chief of Staff Thomas Lynch.

After an exciting week at Senator’s office, I could not wait for the next speakership series. After researching the speakers of the week and preparing some questions for the speakers, I was ready! All the fellows arrived on time and were prepared to hear from the inspirational speakers. The first speaker was Congressman Pallone’s Campaign Manager Matthew Montekio. He talked about his experience as a Campaign Manager and how successful campaigns are led. He was followed by West Windsor  Councilwoman Ayesha Hamilton who explained how important it is to have professional experience in a particular field before getting involved in politics. She spoke about her own experience as an advocate and how it helped her in her political career. She also talked about campaigns she was involved in, as well as how she personally met people and connected with them to gain support for her campaign.

Jun Choi, former Mayor of Edison talked about his experience governing the 5th largest municipality in the state. He explained how diversity both helps and creates conflicts in a community. The final speaker of the day was Assemblyman Craig Coughlin. He explained how the government functions and how successful campaigns are carried out and won.

We learned that politics and campaigning is nothing like what you see on House of Cards, and if you really want to get involved in this field- don’t take any tips from Frank Underwood!

Anyway, being halfway through the New Jersey Leadership Program makes me both sad and happy. I’m happy about learning so much through this program and gaining invaluable experience through my internship and through speakers but I am also sad about that this wonderful journey will soon come to an end.