Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Jordan Watson, Cheney junior, was never really into politics in high school.
“I liked to think of myself as a person who was well informed, but I never really had an opinion on a lot of things,” Watson said.
Now that’s all changed, because Watson interns at the governor’s office in Topeka. Since the summer, he has worked in the Constituent Services office, which helps citizens communicate with the governor’s office and state government.
Parts of his job include answering phones and communicating with callers.
Contributed photo
Jordan Watson, Cheney junior, shakes hands with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Watson interned in the Constituent Services office, where he answered citizens’ phone calls to the governor.
“When a person wants to talk to the governor they call our office first,” Watson said. “We get them to the people or the agency that they need to talk to about their problems.”
In high school, Watson had other activities, such as forensics, theater and journalism to occupy his time. Then, a year ago, Watson was a student at Butler Community College and wrote his own weekly column on politics.
“I really feel like my political views were established because of that, and by sophomore year I had my own opinions on issues,” Watson said.
With his newfound interest in politics, he started campaigning last spring for Marcey Gregory, Kansas house candidate for District 93 in Sedgwick County.
There he worked with other people who had interned for the governor. They suggested that he submit a resume to the governor’s office and apply for a position as an intern.
“I never thought that I would be in a position working for the government so early on.”
But he learned that there was much more to it than he thought.
“I quickly learned that in this job you can never know enough. Someone can call you and ask anything,” Watson said.
Watson’s future aspirations have some political aspects to them.
“I would like to become a staff member working in policy at some point in my life,” Watson said.
For now, Watson appreciates his current position.
“This experience has really opened my eyes to the inner workings of government,” Watson said. “The job comes with a real sense of gravity.”
— — Edited by Justin Leverett
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