I was very excited when I heard back from MJ Hegar’s campaign to find out that I was chosen to be an intern for her campaign trail. MJ is an American politician, Air Force veteran, businesswoman, and teacher. In 2017, she published the memoir Shoot Like a Girl, which describes her service in Afghanistan. She also sued the Air Force to remove the Combat Exclusion Policy that didn’t allow women to fight in combat, preventing her from accomplishing a higher leadership position in the military. She was successful in having the policy overturned, and this was before she was even a politician! She is currently running for the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas’s 31st congressional district.
(MJ Hegar/source courthousenews.com)
I had been following her in politics and jumped at the chance to work under her. I work in the financial sector of her campaign, trying to find potential donors as they are the lifeblood of any campaign. I “cold call” potential donors or past donors to inform them about upcoming events and fundraisers. I also do background research on donors into a database for the campaign managers to look through for potential information.
When I first arrived at my new internship and my very first one too, I was nervous. I soon met my supervisor and she guided me through all the steps of working on a campaign. Everyone was very welcoming and personal in following up with me and checking up on my work to see how I was progressing. One of the most surprising things about working on a campaign is how social it is. I am constantly in a close working space with my supervisors. I am aware of the ongoings of our campaign among our higher ups. It is pleasant to work in a working environment and under superiors who I work closely with and who have a very clear image of our goals and daily tasks. I am not just following orders but work with my supervisor to accomplish a goal for MJ!
(MJ Hegar/source Texas Tribune)
Working on a campaign is very exciting because when your candidate succeeds it feels like you are a part of that success. You helped create progress and actually see your hard work come to fruition. It is a very exciting time filled with a lot of hope for your candidate in the upcoming elections. MJ is especially exciting to me and someone I hope to see become a politician in the fine state of Texas. MJ could bring real change and progress to our state and as someone who is fairly liberal it would nice to be represented in the Texas government. She is an underdog though running against a long term incumbent like John Cornyn for Texas Senate. To be a part of a election as important as this whether she wins or loses is pretty exciting. I am glad for my first internship I was able to work on a campaign, a career path I would like to explore in the future. I would like to explore other fields of internships as well in politics, such working for a lobbying firm or at the Capitol. Getting the chance one day to intern at the Texas Capitol during a session would be amazing!
