Last Day

Thursday, April 10th was the last (and to be cliché about it, certainly not least) day in Sacramento. We began the day at Nossaman LLP, a lobbying firm. Immediately the words “lobbying firm” conjures up images of modern architecture, and it certainly did not fail to live up to its expectations. But the greatest honor was in talking to Barry Broad, who specializes with labor unions; Ashley Setoudeh, and her emphasis on education policy; as well as briefly with Meg Catzen-Brown whose focus has been water and green policies. They gave us a brilliant overview of what it is like to be a lobbyist and shared some really choice anecdotes about what it’s like to lobby.

We all split up to lunch for half an hour, but when we turned we were able to listen to Monica, the higher education policy advisor for Speaker of the Assembly.

After a break of about an hour and a half, we met up with Mike Peterson, a Republican judiciary consultant. He brought with him Kerry and Richard Paul from the Senate Fellows program. Lastly, we met with Claire Conlon, press secretary for Senator Kevin de Leon.

It was a great day, and a great trip. We were all so blessed to have had the opportunity to receive advice and simply be in the company of political giants. I don’t have to poll my peers to know that the entire experience was utterly incomparable, and that “thank you” falls very flat in the face of the gratitude we feel towards those who made it all possible.

-          Elena Salcido

Day One

            4/7/14

            Today we were fortunate enough to get an extensive tour of the capitol building where we learned the history of the building itself, as well as reasons why Sacramento is the state capital. Our tour was lead by a former United States Marine who had a passion for California’s history, good and bad. He strongly encouraged all of us to take an interest in the legislative process and do whatever we can as citizens to be involved in that process. He also reminded us that the government of this country was set up “for the people, by the people” and that it is incredibly important that the people are involved; otherwise it is hard for the legislators to meet our needs as citizens of the state.

            After our tour, we met with David Townsend, a remarkable political consultant who has worked on numerous campaigns and initiatives. He spoke briefly and then allowed us to ask many questions to which he gave thorough and honest answers. He answered questions on current policy issues as well as questions regarding how to survive in the political world. He shared several of his experiences with us which provided insight into how the political world actually operates. Although he was realistic about the difficulty of being involved in the political community, he encouraged us to pursue it anyway because it is important that we are involved and that people who are passionate participate. It was a very informative question and answer session and we were very lucky to meet with someone of such high political caliber.

-Olivia Regalia

Interns Anastasia, Elena, Zoie, and Elie

Pictured: Holly and Jessica

Interns Brian, Gabe, Stephen

Pictured: Michael and Ama

Interns Michael and Jessica

Pictured: Chelsea, Brandon, Nicholas, and Adam

Interns Ripkyn and Adam

Brandon, Dr. Eskandari, Adam, and Brian

Dr. Eskandari and the Sacramento Interns with Mayor Kevin Johnson at City Hall

Sacramento Internship - Nicholas Steil

The 24 hour train ride was well worth the time with the amount of knowledge that was gained in return. I didn't know on the way to Sacramento that I would accomplish so much. The trip for me was about two things: a graded internship and advocating for students across the state. I went in wanting to learn how things work in the real world in regards to politics on the state level and I am satisfied to say that I was offered a large dose of reality. The group had the opportunity to speak with Consultants, Lobbyists, Assembly Members and Senators among others. Every one was researching a particular theme in policy and my focus was on the topic of education, especially disadvantaged student support programs and services. I was able to ask many questions that will not only help me with the term paper but also allow me to plan the next step in the LaSTS project, which is to draft and get sponsorship on a a bill.

Through my work on the SBCC Student Senate I have found a passion for representing my fellow students. I feel very blessed to be in the position I am in since it is based on being elected. I feel it is my duty to be in tune with our campus but also to be knowledgeable in the practices of a senator. This trip allowed me to expand on the latter of the two.
I now know a great deal more about our state government and the gears that make it work and I plan to keep on striving toward my goal of being a member of the United States Congress.

Nicholas Steil

DAY 3

April 9th, 2014

Today was a filled with knowledge and advice from wonderful leaders. We started off the day at Students First. This Non-Profit organization seeks to improve the educational system in the United States, putting the interests of children before anything else. We were very fortunate to hear from three leaders from the organization, who shared with us the insight into their latest education policy, the legislative process of the relationship with the state law, and ultimately, ways in which to implement these measures into school systems around the nation. A key point was that was covered today was the effect of socioeconomic status in education. I believe that this is a prevalent aspect in our society today and it is indeed affecting our children at the academic level. Though this is certainly a pertinent factor to the achievement gap between high and low income students, Students First makes it a point that as an organization they cannot wait for poverty to end in order for an effective and up to date education system to begin. I really appreciated this stance, because I too, agree that if we wait for poverty to end, we may be waiting a lifetime and our students cannot afford to wait. Learning about Students First opened up my eyes about the challenges that our education system faces today, such as redistricting measures in order to introduce diversity to many schools. I hope that if Sacramento switches to a strong mayor system, the education system can be transformed little by little with the hopes to impact the rest of California. The second item in our agenda included getting a tour of Sacramento City Hall. The most exciting part of today for me was meeting Sacramento’s Mayor Kevin Johnson.  His passion for education was very inspiring. It is this passion that both Kevin Johnson and wife Michelle Rhee share for education that leads me to believe that there are great changes towards education coming our way. “Farm to Fork”, is another initiative that Kevin Johnson shared with us, with the vision to turn Sacramento into a leader in agriculture and becoming a green capital. We ended our day visiting the office of the Attorney General Kamala Harris. Not only was this exciting because the Attorney General is a very powerful individual, but the grandeur of the building also added to the experience.  Though we did not get to meet Kamala Harris, we had the opportunity to speak to her Assistant General Attorney who answered many of our questions. I have had an enriching experience thus far, and I look forward to seeing the rest of beautiful Sacramento!


-Stephanie Ramirez

Day One

The day started early for me around 6am for a morning run. After that I went to the breakfast area that has a very nice waffle maker and fruit (optimal for taking along for later in the day). Moving as a pack we attracted much attention. Many people stopped and asked us who we we’re. One guy even shouted go students. It was an extremely inspirational day to see the work that goes into the legislative process. The tour guide we had was informative and passionate about his role as an individual in state level politics. After the tour we ate lunch in the Capitol cafeteria. There was a salad bar and Mexican cuisine that was high priced but very zesty. After lunch we went to the Capitol Park to talk with David Townsend; a very successful Campaign Strategist. He gave an insightful perspective on the workmanship that is in operation under political figures. He referred to himself as the head coach of campaigning in which he finds his success through his passion for the cause he is fighting for. His outline for success centering on the 3M’s: message, messenger, and money. After an hour break we had a discussion with the assistant parliamentary director in the Assembly Chamber. Not only is that architecture in the Capitol beautiful but so is the history. The director talked to us about everything for passing bills to hazing first term members. The first day included a wonderful time exploring the Capitol and spending time with classmates.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Anna Pichnarcik

Sacramento; a town lined with trees, skyscrapers on one block, and Victorian houses on the other, all centered around the capital. Our first exposure to somewhat of the political caliber occurred when we first had the chance to pick the brain of Assemblyman Das Williams—Santa Barbara native and a former student of Dr. Eskandari. My peers and I had the chance to glean information about our policies for our research paper from Williams, who spent a generous amount of time talking to each student regarding their policies. The next days activities gave us a better understanding on how the assembly works. After a private tour of the State Capital building and a quick picture with Das Williams, we managed to push our way through a crowd of people for an Assembly meeting. The portion of the meeting we saw was revolved around passing AJR-35, a bill dedicating a week of remembrance for the Armenian Genocide. This gave valuable insight into how the assembly works in which textbooks cannot provide. Later, we met with political strategist David Townsend, who has an 83% success rate in his political campaigns. He gave us an honest glance into how campaigns are won. The “three M’s,” message, messenger and money were the most pertinent aspects in order to win a campaign. Although, money may seem the most imperative, Townsend made it clear that if you have a good message and a good messenger, that will always triumph over money. Townsend’s extremely informal demeanor and ‘tell it like it is’ attitude allowed for an intriguing and informative conversation. Although, majority of us had wished the conversation could have gone on for hours, we eventually had to part ways. We then headed to the Assembly Chamber to meet Chief Clerk E. Dotson Wilson. Unfortunately, Wilson was called away last minute so his Assistant Chief Clerk stepped in for him. He led us through the legislative process in passing a bill and informed us on the inner workings of the relations between the 80 Assemblymen that gather in that chamber. Although, this was a long day, it led me to implore the idea of holding a position in California State legislature. This day truly was one to remember, however, some of the most memorable moments I have had was with the other students in this program. This experience has opened my eyes to a whole new world.