You Call, OPC Answers

The PentagonSpeaker series is one aspect that I appreciate about working at the White House. The Office of Presidential Correspondence either schedules speakers such as Alan Kruger, chairman of the National Economic Council and the assistant speechwriter to the President to come speak to us at the office about their work and how they got to where they are or we as a group of interns go over to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to meet with them. One trip that I enjoyed was going to the Pentagon to meet with two defense contractors. Just the opportunity to actually be able to tour the Pentagon after an extensive security process was amazing. It was a pretty interesting tour because there’s actually a little mall inside the building, complete with and nails and spa salon, a jewelry store, a suit store, and a CVS, just to name a few. Another part of my program that kept it exciting was comment line. Every Monday from 9-11:00am, I had my comment line shift where I’d answer calls by saying “Good morning. White House Comment Line. Can I take your brief comment for the President?” My job was to take the American public’s comment and record them on a computer database. Then at the end of every night, all the entries would be sent over to the Office of the President so the President is able to stay in touch with America and understand their stories and concerns. This opportunity allowed me to listen to the American people, hear their stories, and become aware of their struggles, triumphs and hopes from coast to coast. This was public service at its finest.

My comment line shift
My comment line shift

Working from 9am-6pm was not an easy task, especially when I was fasting. I would get home around 7pm, leaving me with an hour and a half to relax, change, and make dinner. For someone who didn’t know how to cook, or was limited in my options, I struggled. I even began to feel homesick since I felt stuck in a daily routine where I my life was taken up by the internship. Luckily for me, home was only three hours away from DC so I could easily go home on some weekends or my family could come down to visit (and cook for) me. I just wasn’t ready to grow up yet.