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Day 1&2: 1/7-1/8

My first two days interning in City Councilwoman Abbie Kamin’s office have been hugely successful. Tuesday marked my first day. I spent the morning sitting on preparatory meetings, orienting myself around the office, and doing some research on the Councilwoman’s work during her first term, and the City of Houston in general. In my time researching, I learned about Kamin’s main policy agendas and the demographics of her district, among other things. My afternoon was spent attending the public session, which is an opportunity for the public to voice their concerns to the Council. The main issue brought by constituents was the inconsistency of heavy trash pickup. I took notes on any speakers who reside in District C, the district Councilwoman represents. Wednesday morning kicked off with a Council meeting, where Council members voted on different things, including granting funds, initiating legislation, etc. It was a fast-paced meeting and gave me a glimpse into the work of local governments. The remainder of my morning was spent working on my bus shelter project, where I was identifying busy bus stops with poor amenities in District C. The aim is to apply for funding and get bus shelters constructed in the identified locations. I am writing a memorandum with justifications for the funding, context about METRO’s work, and potential locations for the bus shelters. After my lunch break, I had two meetings with staff members, where I was briefed about their work as directors of communications and external affairs. My biggest takeaway from their work was how involved they were with legislation, constituent services, and making other direct contributions to District C without being elected officials. In the afternoon I also attended the Art and Culture Committee meeting which held representatives from the Museum District to discuss initiatives of cooperation with the Council. I took notes on the matter discussed for District C’s staff to fill them in. My day ended at around 4:30 after finishing up some work for my project. 


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