I will be spending this summer working in Albany, NY as a Policy Intern with the Cornell Office of Federal Government Relations. Over the next couple months, I will be immersed in all the projects the office takes on, and will have the opportunity to sit in on legislative meetings, working on research projects, social media, and organizing and attending field trips to various places and any other miscellaneous jobs that are needed. Yesterday was my first day on the job and its great! The office is a lovely five minute walk from my apartment on Hudson Ave.
I started the day off getting settled in at my very own desk, connecting to the Internet, finding the bathroom, and befriending the coffee machine. Pretty quickly I learned about some of the work the office is doing with three bills for Cornell. The first is bill A10204 (S.7436) which is being brought in to exempt students in gun safety and proficiency courses from certain provisions of law. It was interesting to learn how this process went, from identifying the issue, to getting the bill together, and following it through the chain of government till it is passed. The next bill I learned about is bill number A10400 regarding the Cornell Police employees, many of whom do not live in Tompkins county for various reasons. Finally there is a bill (S.7314-A) that has not yet been introduced that aims to help Cornell provide excellent health coverage to its students through allowing it to so self-insurance. This would save students about 6-8% of the cost of current coverage which is $1,776. It provides the same consumer protections, oversight and approval process that insurance companies are required to operate under. Yesterday I went all around the Capital Buildings here in Albany with Zoe Nelson, who is a State Legislative Associate and talked to various people in the Senate and the Assembly to gain more co-sponsors for the bill. It is an absolutely gorgeous building, really full of history and different types of architecture. There are some really neat exhibits up and the place is full of history to explore. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of wearing new shoes that had not been broken in, and had to deal with terrible blisters the whole time, but it was still an adventure going around the building, trying to find people, and meeting with each one about this bill.
The rest of this week I will be working more with Zoe to get this bill going, and on Friday we head to NYC for the Agri-Investment Symposium and MOU Signing Ceremony of Kwara State Agricultural Modernization Master Plan. It will be over 40 people and I am very excited to see what its all about. Its amazing that NYC is only a two and a half hour train ride away. I am so happy to be working with such awesome people this summer - Charlie is the Assistant Vice President and also has a twin brother, they are both very good at Ping Pong - Lee is the Agriculture and Natural Resources Specialist and I think I will learn a lot from him this summer - finally Paula is the Administrative Assistant who seems to keep everyone together and has a really great spirit and style. I am excited for the rest of the week to come!
I started the day off getting settled in at my very own desk, connecting to the Internet, finding the bathroom, and befriending the coffee machine. Pretty quickly I learned about some of the work the office is doing with three bills for Cornell. The first is bill A10204 (S.7436) which is being brought in to exempt students in gun safety and proficiency courses from certain provisions of law. It was interesting to learn how this process went, from identifying the issue, to getting the bill together, and following it through the chain of government till it is passed. The next bill I learned about is bill number A10400 regarding the Cornell Police employees, many of whom do not live in Tompkins county for various reasons. Finally there is a bill (S.7314-A) that has not yet been introduced that aims to help Cornell provide excellent health coverage to its students through allowing it to so self-insurance. This would save students about 6-8% of the cost of current coverage which is $1,776. It provides the same consumer protections, oversight and approval process that insurance companies are required to operate under. Yesterday I went all around the Capital Buildings here in Albany with Zoe Nelson, who is a State Legislative Associate and talked to various people in the Senate and the Assembly to gain more co-sponsors for the bill. It is an absolutely gorgeous building, really full of history and different types of architecture. There are some really neat exhibits up and the place is full of history to explore. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of wearing new shoes that had not been broken in, and had to deal with terrible blisters the whole time, but it was still an adventure going around the building, trying to find people, and meeting with each one about this bill.
The rest of this week I will be working more with Zoe to get this bill going, and on Friday we head to NYC for the Agri-Investment Symposium and MOU Signing Ceremony of Kwara State Agricultural Modernization Master Plan. It will be over 40 people and I am very excited to see what its all about. Its amazing that NYC is only a two and a half hour train ride away. I am so happy to be working with such awesome people this summer - Charlie is the Assistant Vice President and also has a twin brother, they are both very good at Ping Pong - Lee is the Agriculture and Natural Resources Specialist and I think I will learn a lot from him this summer - finally Paula is the Administrative Assistant who seems to keep everyone together and has a really great spirit and style. I am excited for the rest of the week to come!
Sounds like an amazing start. Super interesting to hear about bills that are important and relevant to Cornell. Sorry to hear about the blisters - hope the shoes are broken in now!
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