Krystle Jo Klema

Washington D.C. Summer Internship Program Summer 2002

Krystle interned at Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton's Office located in Russell Senate Office Building (SR-346), Washington, DC.

Washington D.C. is one of the offices of Senator Dayton; the other offices are located in several different regions of Minnesota.  The central mission of all the offices is to work to best address the concerns and serve the needs of Minnesota constituents, followed by the other citizens of the United States.  The D.C. office refers all of the casework to Minnesota; its primary workload consists of responding to constituents while working on the current and prominent interests and issues occurring throughout Capitol Hill.

Here is what Krystle had to say about her Summer Study experience: "Dealing with constituents and legislators, whose views oppose the views I have and represent, has helped me resolve my dilemma of contradicting moral, political, and social views through the experience of my internship; these situations have given me the opportunity to recognize and accept my responsibilities as a citizen.  When one recognizes and accepts his or her responsibilities as a citizen, she or he likewise respect the rights of other individuals. All Americans are expected to respect the rights of others.  Every person is expected to obey the laws of the community, state, and country in which she or he lives.  Functioning under this concept, achievements in this country are made by compromising.

I gained insight on how beneficial it is to form relationships with people who have similar goals from their conversation; goals can be accomplished much more effectively and efficiently when teamwork is properly installed. I was influenced to begin more teamwork projects.

While I can try to describe and explain my internship experience, I feel that I really can not do justice in words to the impact it has had on me. My entrance into Washington, D.C. is comparable to that of Jimmy Stewart's apprehensive and naive character in the 1939 movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.  My exit from Washington, D.C. and my internship can only be described as one of the best experiences of my life, with accomplishments and aspirations."