Week 5 - Capitol Hill Mentoring

Ivette Alonso García
Jul 25
3 min read

Updated: Aug 4

June 21, 2025- New Species

Who would have thought that it was a great experience to go to the zoo all grown up? We had made plans to go to the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. It was a very hot day, but it didn't stop us from seeing the animals and pandas. We had made a trail to follow, so in that case, we would have the opportunity to see every exhibition. We started at the Asia Trail, the Bird House, and the Elephant Center, and when we got to the panda section, there was a huge line. We waited for about 20 minutes to go see a panda, but it was worth the wait, because they were so fluffy and cute.

We continued our journey to the zoo, and not even halfway through, we were all so hungry, so we decided to go out and get something to eat. Some recommended Seafood Boil, and everybody's mouth started watering.

June 22, 2025- Mentoring the next wave of leaders

A month prior to this event, I got an invitation from the CHCI NextGen Program- a program for high schoolers to attend civic engagement and leadership workshops in DC. I was a CHCI NextGen participant back in 2022, so they asked me to share a little bit of my experience. It was a very sunny day, and the commute was a short walk away from the metro station. When I got out of the metro station, I was feet away from the gated fence of the Pentagon (United States Department of Defense).

June 23, 2025- AI at its finest

It was CHCI Week 5 Programming, and when I got into the room where the class takes place, I saw that everyone had their eyes on the screen. I looked at the TV and there it was an art that Artificial Intelligence had made. It was pretty cool but crazy at the same time. The Imperfections were visible, but it made me realize how quick and scary AI can be.

June 24, 2025- A sprinkle of love

Coming back to the office, I was greeted by my congresswoman with a cupcake. She stated how appreciative she is of my work and commitment in her office, and that made my day.

June 24, 2025- Beginning of the Day at the Office

In which I thought was a regular work day... press clips, batching, answering phone calls, salutations. I got a Teams message from my supervisor. I opened the message up and it read 'invitation.' I looked at the other intern as she was reading it too. We got excited to see that we have been invited for a press conference with our congresswomen and other representatives about women's rights to reproductive healthcare.

While sitting on the third row, I saw how leaders Teresa Leger Fernandez, Katherine Clark, Hakeem Jeffries, Judy Chu, and 2 other representatives.

June 25, 2025- Capitol Hill Day Mentoring

As many may know, CHCI has a high school program in which they bring exceptional high school students from all over the country to Washington, DC, and teach them about leadership and civic engagement. On Wednesday, we guided them on their visits to the Capitol to visit most of their representatives. Even though it wasn't in our agenda, we started with visiting the iconic AOC office because everyone had requested to stop by. Next, we made our way to the Senate side, where we met with Oregon State Senator Jeff Merkley, a senator from California, and a couple of other stops. It was nice being able to hear the students' questions for the Congressional Leaders.