Become a policy advisor or politician

I first got into politics by doing an internship when I was a junior in high school with Senator Shirley K. Turner in New Jersey, she was the chair of the education committee and I was big into education policy (still am!). She and her staff taught me how to advocate for others within the government, and how systemic problems can be addressed by government.

I started out answering phones and writing down people’s complaints for the senator to read, and then I got to write policy memos suggesting fixes in the laws and systems to address their complaints.

The role of a politician or policy advisor (commonly referred to as a legislative aide) is to improve their constituents’ lives by creating or modifying government systems, policies, or laws.

College selection for high school students (skip this if you’re in college)

If you want to work at the federal level, going to D.C. is basically mandatory. There are nine major universities in the Washington D.C. area and the vast majority of D.C. jobs and internships go to them.

[[[THIS PARAGRAPH ONLY APPLIES TO STUDENTS WHO WANT TO BE DIPLOMATS]]] You will need to learn a second language to fluency and attend Georgetown University. If you don’t get into Georgetown, George Washington University is an acceptable alternative but a bit of a gamble, and I wouldn’t recommend it. If your parents are paying for school, you can take your chances and go somewhere that’ll teach you Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi…