During this summer vacation I realized the importance of time. Once its gone you can never get it back. So I thought about all the choices. I realized the importance of time. This summer I am using part of my time to intern with the congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen from the 27th district of Florida in Washington D.C. My goal is to learn specific issues related to Public Policy and international relations. I have a deep interest in politics and international relations, and trust me; you have no idea how excited I was when I heard that I was going to work for a congresswoman that has been in office for over 25 years. Before I explain about the experiences and issues that have been swiping by this past month, I am going to give the readers a brief biography of my dearly congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was born in Havana, Cuba just before the Castro Regime (1952). Unfortunately, at the age of eight, she and her family were forced out of the country, fleeing to the United States. Despite the fact that she wasn't able to grow up in her own country, the United States brought her opportunities and made her feel like she was at home. She adapted quite quickly to her home city, Miami. She attended Miami-Dade Community College in 1972, Bachelors and Masters Degree in Education from Florida International University in 1975-1985 and now owns a Doctorate Degree from the University of Miami. Undergoing those learning experiences and acknowledging merit, she had the capabilities of becoming a great Representative for this country’s government. After many years of her dedication as a certified teacher, she worked up the ladder and is currently the Representative of the 27th District of Florida. She became a Representative of this country’s government because she wanted to represent the Cuban-American population in her district. She is also currently part of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which deals issues like the Cuban Embargo. You can read more on her website:
On the day of the State of the Union—a presidential speech to the nation—the legislative assistant provided me an important task. I had to coordinate the schedules of all the major press departments (Fox, CNBC, Univision, NBC, etc.) An important interview that included the Cuban Republican Rep. in congress and, a future candidate of the Presidency Cuba was going to commence that afternoon. While I was doing my task, a tall young man stepped in to the office. His way of being socially simplistic made me thought for a moment that he was a visitor from Miami, scheduled with a casual meeting with the congresswoman. Having a friendly Spanish conversation with the man and I knew instantly that he was from Cuba. Yet, I never knew he was the man that was going to be part of the major interview that was occurring that afternoon. Skipping through the events that occurred at the office on that day, I arrived at my room and turned on the T.V. Scrolling through the news channels, apparently, I saw this tall, young man; but, for a moment it couldn't be the man that I saw earlier at the office. When I realized it was my Cuban friend form earlier that day, I almost blacked out for a second. This man was the future candidate for the Presidency of the Cuban Government, and foolish of me, I couldn't get at least a signature to keep in reminder. At least I had the honor to make him coffee.
I appreciate all those who have given me the opportunity to pursue my passion and work beside those who I admire. I strongly recommend to my classmates to reflect your use of time and possibly do something productive with it. Like my internship, there are many opportunities for you; it won’t always be there. I can’t imagine myself spending my two months on the beach because I wouldn’t have met special people and I wouldn’t have experienced the precious moments like those I described previous to this paragraph. I strongly urge my classmates to use my story as an example. Time is a commodity that once is gone we can never get it back, you either stare at it or embrace it with opportunities that will improve you as a whole.