"Coveted" D.C. experience awaits mentee

— Though later than planned

By California State University, Bakersfield

June 9^th, 2020

For a brand-new college graduate passionate about public policy, there’s no better opportunity to learn, grow and try out career options than to intern with the hometown congressman.

That’s especially true when the hometown congressman is the U.S. House minority leader and he has three kinds of offices – home, district and leadership – in which to get varying kinds of experience.

New CSUB grad Carly Elliott, with the help of her mentor in the `Runner Alumni Mentor Program, got that summer internship, with House Minority Leader and fellow CSUB alum Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield.

But then she had to make the difficult decision to defer for a year, worried about the health risks and the risk that social-distancing guidelines would limit her opportunities.

“I looked at the internship and decided I want that full experience," Elliott said. “I also wanted to be cautious.”

COVID-19 is upending many young people’s summer internship plans. As of early April, just 35 percent of employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers were planning to offer on-site internships as planned. Twenty-nine percent were moving to virtual internships, 35 percent were reducing the length of internships and 15 percent were cutting the number of interns hired.

CSUB’s Center for Community Engagement and Career Education has also seen a drop in the number of internships advertised to students, most likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Assistant Director Katrina Gilmore. CECE is reaching out to local employers and other community partners to survey which will offer in-person or virtual internships in the fall. (See more details below).

McCarthy said that as Congress and the country find ways to return to work safely, it's important to preserve internships because they provide young people "opportunities to learn important life skills and how our government works for its citizens.”

“I will never forget my first internship — it helped cement my love of public service and my desire to always give back,” said McCarthy, who cut his teeth in politics working for former Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield.

A RAMP success

While Elliott just graduated from CSUB and BC, her brother, Cory, graduated from Bakersfield College this past fall and will attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to study business administration.

Elliott can’t wait for the day she gets to intern for McCarthy in his Bakersfield and Washington, D.C., offices. She calls the mere fact she got the internship —and will attend graduate school at Texas A&M University starting later this summer — a true `Runner Alumni Mentor Program success story.

RAMP pairs up CSUB juniors, seniors and graduate students with alumni and other professionals who can help them make the monumental leap from college to graduate school or the workplace — or both.

Elliott applied for RAMP because she was a first-generation college student who wanted help applying for graduate school. She was matched up with Yvonne Armendariz, interim director of academic support services at Bakersfield College and a double CSUB alumna.

It was a perfect match.

The pair met up about once a month (before COVID-19 hit) but talked and texted “all the time,” Armendariz said. They reviewed Elliott’s resume, discussed scholarship and internship opportunities (Armendariz told her about the McCarthy internship) and explored graduate school options.

Armendariz wrote Elliott multiple letters of recommendation and even coached her on staging an appropriate backdrop for interviews conducted via Zoom.

“Carly values her parents’ opinions and their judgment, but she wanted to make sure she was headed in the right direction,” Armendariz said.

Elliott put as much effort into the mentoring relationship as she got from it, a big reason why it was so successful, she said.

“Every time we met — we’d meet at like a Starbucks or somewhere for lunch — it was never a one-hour meeting. It was like three hours. It was non-stop interaction,” Armendariz said.

“…I’d give her an assignment or something to do and she would get back to me before I got home. It was like, ‘OK, Carly, but it could have waited!”

The biggest call Armendariz helped Elliott make was whether to pursue teaching and a teaching credential or follow her newer-found passion for public policy. A class sparked Elliott’s interest in education policy in particular; her experience as a legislative intern for Associated Students Inc. Lobby Corps at CSUB cemented it.

She lobbied local legislators on behalf of California State University students, including traveling to Sacramento to advocate for financial aid reform, funding for housing and support for food-security measures.

“I love politics,” Elliott said. “I love trying to figure out how to support things, how to make things different, how to improve what’s out there.”

In mid-August, Elliott will head off to Texas A&M University for her master’s degree in public service and administration with a concentration in education policy. She chose it over several other prestigious schools including Columbia University in New York and George Washington University and Georgetown University in D.C., because of the real-world experience in policymaking that it offers.

Adapting to challenges

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy accepts a bag of CSUB alumni gifts from CSUB President Lynnette Zelezny during an alumni reception in his Capitol office conference room in 2018.

Each summer, 15 interns work for McCarthy, rotating among his Bakersfield office, Washington, D.C., district office across the street from the U.S. Capitol, and leadership office inside the Capitol building.

When they’re in Bakersfield, McCarthy interns tackle a lot of on-the-ground case work, like helping constituents navigate the federal government to solve a problem. In the D.C. district office, they deal with broader-scale district issues. In the leadership office, they get to delve into national policy matters.

According to McCarthy’s office, interns traditionally answer phones, meet constituents, write memos, attend briefings and give tours. What they will do this summer will depend on guidance from the Office of the Attending Physician, which advises members of Congress on medical issues.

But, McCarthy’s office said, there are many tasks they can do remotely if need be: respond to constituent voicemail messages, help craft social media messaging, and observe and take notes on committee meetings and hearings held virtually instead of in person.

“While these last few months have really challenged us as a nation, we have also seen the true tenacity of the American spirit and our ability to rise to the occasion, adapt to challenges, and support our neighbors,” McCarthy said.

'Unbelievably special'

Armendariz was there for both highs and lows as Elliott prepared for life after CSUB. One low was when Elliott didn’t get into a graduate school she applied to; Armendariz encouraged her to see it as an opportunity to go somewhere that was a better fit.

A high was when Elliott got accepted into Columbia, a dream school even though she chose Texas A & M instead. Elliott was with Armendariz when she opened the email from Columbia offering her a spot on campus.

“Just to be part of that experience was overwhelming,” Armendariz said. “I told Carly, ‘Go home, go show this to your parents.’ I felt I was taking away an experience that should be between them.”

On May 22, which would have been undergraduate commencement day at CSUB, Armendariz joined family and friends in surprising Elliott with a drive-by graduation celebration outside her home.

Friends and family drove by Elliott’s home May 22 to congratulate her on her graduation from CSUB.

Armendariz put a “Congratulations, Carly” sign with balloons up in her front yard, brought a gift and participated in a car parade.

“This surprise was incredibly meaningful because I was looking forward to walking across the stage as a first-generation college student,” Elliott said. “The entire event was so unbelievably special, I actually felt as if I was graduating.”

OFFERING INTERNSHIP(S)?

If you have information about internships potentially available to CSUB students in the fall, please share it with the Center for Community Engagement and Career Education at career@csub.eduor (661) 654-3033.

COMING SOON:

Do you want to mentor or be mentored? You’ll have new opportunities soon!

Late this summer, the CSUB Office of Alumni Engagement will launch `RunnerBridge, an online mentoring and networking platform open to CSUB alumni, students, faculty and staff.

It will facilitate short-term virtual networking and mentoring within the alumni family as well as longer-term, more structured mentoring through our `Runner Alumni Mentor Program. RAMP is open to CSUB juniors, seniors and graduate students on the mentee side and alumni, faculty, staff and non-alumni professionals on the mentor side.

More information about `RunnerBridge will appear in email inboxes and on social media in late summer. To express interest now, email cbedell1@csub.edu.