For many Aragon students, working outside of school is a way to discover their passions, as well as potential future careers. From establishing strong networking connections to gaining technical skills in the workforce, jobs provide valuable experience. For students interested in politics, working in government offices is a way they can gain priceless work experience and exposure to the political world.
Senior Amanda Safi volunteered for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign for four months until Harris dropped out of the running. Safi served as the student recruitment leader and social media captain for San Mateo County.
“[In my role], I would reach out to different clubs and schools,” Safi said. “I went to a couple of clubs at Aragon and reached out to community colleges and other high schools in the district. There were other events like fundraisers … we would table at farmer’s markets, have info booths every weekend and debate watch parties … Throughout those four months, whenever I wasn’t at events, I would be promoting the campaign on social media.”
Senior Areen Tazian interned at Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s office and with San Mateo County Supervisors’ Dave Pine.
“We did a lot of research especially at the county supervisors office … there were spreadsheets I had to clean up or I had to do some research for school districts,” Tazian said. “[At] Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s office there was a little project they wanted us to find information about the county. We also dealt with constituents: we picked up their phone calls, sent emails, wrote letters at the congresswoman’s office.”
Like Tazian, senior Ariela Levanthal interned at Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s office during the summer.
“I would answer phone calls and do some legislative research. There was this bill we were working on where we had to find all of the power plants, auto manufacturers, electric power plants and get research around the entire country,” Levanthal said. “Our goal was to use that to go up to members of the Congressional Climate Caucus and push for an energy bill which gives extra funding to electric car companies. Essentially, [we did] very groundwork for legislation that would go to the federal level.”
Working in political offices also gives students opportunities that are not open to the general public. Such events provide an excellent networking opportunity.
“I missed one day of school to go to the California Democratic State convention … It was down in Long Beach and so we carpooled with my team leader for around six hours,” Safi said. “But it was totally worth it; I got to meet Kamala Harris.”
Levanthal was exposed to the constituents’ passion within the district.
“Aragon is a very liberal place, but a lot of times you will get really intense conservatives who have clear values and who are very articulate and want to be represented in their government,” Levanthal said. “And they also deserve the right to be heard, as everyone does.”
Many students also grow from their experiences working and learn important lessons, especially since doing hands-on work is different from the traditional school environment. For Safi, that was learning to become more comfortable talking to strangers.
“I learned how to be more of a people person, because there was this presidential job fair, where all the campaigns had their own tables,” Safi said. “It was a three to four hour event and our table was crowded the entire time. A lot of people interested in either volunteering or getting a job would come and talk to me and I was literally losing my voice.”
When Levanthal received a phone call from a constituent deployed in the military whose wife was sexually assaulted and whose case was never prosecuted, she had to make a quick decision of whether to hand the call to a staffer or to someone who could pass the information directly to the Congresswoman.
“I took the call to [someone who could talk to the Congresswoman] and said. ‘I think this needs to get in front of the Congresswoman,’” Levanthal said. “It was a really key moment for me to realize that change starts from the ground up and not just really big, large scale bills, but the government has the ability to directly improve [or harm] people’s lives. It was a very interesting moment for me to realize that the government plays roles big and small and I had a chance to be part of that.”
High school internships are difficult to get, but can give an edge on resumés to colleges or when applying for jobs. Since most opportunities are reserved for college students, high school internship positions are mostly unpaid. While Tazian’s was paid $16.50 an hour for interning at Dave Pine’s office, her position at Speier’s office was unpaid. Past interns recommend reaching out to teachers and nearby community members who know where to look for such opportunities.
“For the Congresswoman, I was actually searching through [Aragon’s] internship opportunities. I’m Armenian American and [the Congresswoman] is very involved in our community for genocide recognition, so I kind of have always known about her and the work she does. I thought it’d be a good opportunity to learn more about the legislative process and have an influence and educate others on my background,” Tazian said. “Someone I know in the Armenian National Committee of America told me that I could learn more about [the] county [through the San Mateo County internship].”
Safi asked AP US History teacher William Colglazier how she could get more involved in politics. Safi was interested in former candidate Harris’ campaign and signed up to volunteer on her website.
“[At that time], it was really early in the election so there weren’t any opportunities,” Safi said. “But [in August], they sent me an email that there was a camp Kamala training in San Francisco and I was involved ever since.”
Safi also plans on working for more political campaigns in the future and hopes to study politics in college.
“I think working for [Harris’] campaign helped me realize my passion for social activism and politics,” Safi said. “I’m actually going to start volunteering for Christie Smith’s campaign. She’s running for Congress to represent the Santa Clarita area. There’s actually a fundraiser event [soon], so I’m super excited to be there.”
