Fall Legislative Action Days

October 20, 2017

Posted: October 20, 2017, 5:52pm

 

The USC + UC San Diego + UC Davis Team at the office of Senator Kamala Harris!

Since last semester, I’ve grown to understand the political world a bit more as a leader in student government and reading public documents regarding policy. Luckily, I had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. again to represent USC and the graduate student population at large in discussions with our government officials across the country. Over the course of two days on the hill, the USC team (at times including UC San Diego and UC Davis student leaders) met with the offices of Californian Senators Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein, and Representatives Karen Bass, Linda Sanchez, and Lucille Roybal-Allard. Not surprisingly, the staff members were sympathetic towards our pushes for protection of DACA students and sexual assault/harassment victims on campus, increased research funding, and protection of graduate healthcare, but we were able to give them deeper insight into these issues with personal anecdotes and facts.

Meeting Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard.

Even though this short trip was mostly work, I had a little bit of time to take in the sights. I spent around in hour at each of the Air and Space, American Art, and American Indian Smithsonian Museums and had an amazing dinner over two new books at a nearby Busboys and Poets. We also had a chance to meet with a couple of USC alumni living in D.C. and learn about their government careers in healthcare and education. I had never thought of taking my experience in biomedical engineering into politics before, but they’ve successfully planted a seed in my head! Should I pursue a future in science policy or mass media writing? So many options!!

Published on October 20th, 2017

Last updated on April 1st, 2021


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