All Civitas students must partake in an internship of their choice over summer. This summer I chose to work at a lobbying firm downtown just a block away from the state capitol.
The firm is called Corbin & Kaiser LLC. and they lobby for all kinds of people but their main client is a company called Common Sense. Have you ever seen the age ratings for TV shows and movies on Netflix? Common Sense is the group that creates those ratings.
One thing that Corbin & Kaiser LLC. is known for is their work on the “We Said Enough” movement which aims to stop sexual assault and harassment in the workplace and academic settings.
As an intern for a lobbying firm, I spent a majority my time in the state capitol in big rooms with other lobbyists listening to Assembly and Senate bills being called to motion and voted on by different committee’s.
My first week happened to be the same week a bill, AB 822 authored by Senator Scott Wiener, regarding net neutrality was being heard in committee. Net neutrality is a big issue in the nation now since the FCC repealed it last December and the bill was trying to implement statewide net neutrality.
Besides listening to bills being heard, I went to press conferences, interviewed women in political positions and women working in the capital and even went to San Francisco for the day to meet with other interns at Common Sense. Of course it wouldn’t have been a true office internship without the paperwork filing, spreadsheet making and not to mention the tour of the Governor’s office where I got to sit at Governor Brown’s desk.
One of my favorite things about the internship was the opportunities I had to meet working women in many different fields. By talking to the 15-20 women, I learned that I really enjoy public relations. Before this summer I was dead set on going to college, majoring in business with a minor in journalism/communications but I found something else that interest me more. Because of my internship this summer, I learned more about myself and the work world and I feel confident in my next steps after high school.