Mentor Interview
This interview was conducted on May 4, 2015, prior to our internship beginning.
What is your job title?
- I am the district director in the 80th district of the California state assembly
How long have you been working for Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez?
- Lorena Gonzalez was elected in 2013 and I began to work for her shortly after. I started off as a part time field directive and moved my way up.
What is the most difficult or challenging part of your work?
- Trying to help people with immediate needs and trying to empower them long term.
What does it take in order to be successful in this career?
- One of the main aspects to be successful in this career is passion for assisting people. You also need to be able to do a lot of research to gain knowledge on what people go through. Our job is to remove barriers in order to have people succeed, and because there are 80 districts there is a different population within every district that face different challenges.
What qualities do you look for in a good worker?
- Someone who is collaborative. Our team is tiny but mighty, so everyone works closely together in order to meet deadlines. Different people have different strengths and weaknesses so they fill in the gaps where it is needed.
What should I bring everyday when I begin interning to be prepared and what will we be doing on a daily basis?
- Most importantly you should come everyday with an open mind and positive attitude. We will take care of providing all materials that are needed to you guys. There are many different things that you can be doing while interning with us. We can accommodate your work depending on our interests, but a few examples of what you could be doing would be writing letters to a school group who did a good job working with them on something or helping plan out a meeting or fair that we will host.
What can be done in advance to be ready for internship as soon as we arrive?
- Research a lot about what we do and who we serve. In order to get something out of this internship you need to take initiative.
Extra Info: They will be having a small business workshop May 29 and a festival May 15 that we can attend.
What is your job title?
- I am the district director in the 80th district of the California state assembly
How long have you been working for Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez?
- Lorena Gonzalez was elected in 2013 and I began to work for her shortly after. I started off as a part time field directive and moved my way up.
What is the most difficult or challenging part of your work?
- Trying to help people with immediate needs and trying to empower them long term.
What does it take in order to be successful in this career?
- One of the main aspects to be successful in this career is passion for assisting people. You also need to be able to do a lot of research to gain knowledge on what people go through. Our job is to remove barriers in order to have people succeed, and because there are 80 districts there is a different population within every district that face different challenges.
What qualities do you look for in a good worker?
- Someone who is collaborative. Our team is tiny but mighty, so everyone works closely together in order to meet deadlines. Different people have different strengths and weaknesses so they fill in the gaps where it is needed.
What should I bring everyday when I begin interning to be prepared and what will we be doing on a daily basis?
- Most importantly you should come everyday with an open mind and positive attitude. We will take care of providing all materials that are needed to you guys. There are many different things that you can be doing while interning with us. We can accommodate your work depending on our interests, but a few examples of what you could be doing would be writing letters to a school group who did a good job working with them on something or helping plan out a meeting or fair that we will host.
What can be done in advance to be ready for internship as soon as we arrive?
- Research a lot about what we do and who we serve. In order to get something out of this internship you need to take initiative.
Extra Info: They will be having a small business workshop May 29 and a festival May 15 that we can attend.