Prof. Mietek Boduszyński 21岁的迪伦·埃利奥特（Dylan Elliott）从皇冠体育学院（Pomona College）的教师和学生变成了众议员办公室的同事. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.).
Boduszyński, an associate professor of politics and international relations, is on an American Political Science Association (APSA) Fellowship, serving as a foreign policy adviser to Lieu, 而埃利奥特最近完成了与国会议员的实习. 他们发现自己在美国历史上的关键时刻为刘云平工作——在前总统唐纳德·特朗普第二次弹劾审判期间，这位国会议员是众议院的一名经理, Boduszyński和Elliott不得不在一场大流行和1月1日的疫情之后找到他们的新角色. 6 Capitol riot.
“我实习的第一个月主要是第二次弹劾, and it was all hands on deck for a majority of the staff," Elliott says. “每个人都在努力互相帮助，做各自的工作, and doing the best they could. I started five days after the insurrection attempt, and my first month was going 100 miles per hour out the gate."
Lieu represents California's 33rd Congressional District. Elliott, a philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) major, was one of two interns on the team, 他的任务是接听选民和其他人的电话和电子邮件，他们希望Lieu知道他们对移民和南部边境等问题的看法. The pace slowed down considerably after the impeachment, 埃利奥特开始参加简报会，还能和刘云平打两次电话——一次是和全体员工的，另一次是和实习生的.
“能够直接问他问题并听到他的回答，这真的很好，”埃利奥特说. "It was a human moment, 与国会议员交谈，否则你可能没有机会在聚光灯下与他们交谈."
Lieu sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and as a foreign policy adviser, Boduszyński撰写备忘录，为国会议员准备听证会和简报，并起草信件，寄给国防部长等官员. In addition, Boduszyński也帮助起草立法——他说这是他工作中最令人兴奋的部分之一——让刘云平知道选民在问题上的立场，并为他与倡导团体的活动做好准备. 这样做的目的不是告诉刘云平该做什么，而是告诉他该采取什么立场.
“Lieu议员有巨大的道德勇气，”Boduszyński说. "He is not afraid to call things as they are, and if needed to stand up to a presidential administration. He stood up to the Trump administration, 但如果他觉得政府证人没有诚实或忠实地回答问题，他也会反对现任政府.“一个例子是，刘云平在向奥巴马等连续三届政府施压方面发挥了重要作用, Trump and Biden — to end U.S. support for the Saudi war in Yemen. 刘云平的外交政策工作在华盛顿内外广受尊重, Boduszyński says, and many groups and individuals are eager to engage with him.
“我们俩同时出现在刘云平的办公室纯属偶然. After taking two classes with Prof. 博杜斯基，我很高兴能在课堂之外认识他. 虽然我们是远程工作，但从学生、老师到同事之间的沟通是无缝的."- Dylan Elliott '21
"I was delighted," Boduszyński says. “迪伦是一个很棒的人，他一开始就帮我度过了难关. 他了解在线系统，我们能够交换印象和挫折. 在办公室里有一个我已经认识并信任的同事真好."
员工们对他如此有信心，这让埃利奥特感到惊讶, and "never thought I would get my hands on some of the stuff I did," he says. "That is reflective of the top down. Congressman Lieu trusts staff and the staff trusted me. This was a positive culture."
他非常喜欢这段经历，所以在刘云平办公室的实习结束后, he jumped to the Senate, where he is now an intern with Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada). After graduating from Pomona, 他想花时间在华盛顿为当选的国会议员工作, before going to law school.
“像皇冠体育这样的机构的文化和环境，以及总体上的5c，绝对是我在实习中取得成功的原因," Elliott says. “像米特克这样的教授会激发学生的好奇心，让他们渴望学习更多东西，保持开放的心态，并尝试与事物接触. A lot of people think things are very black and white, and actually, they are a lot more gray, and working in government and Congress shows that."
Boduszyński感谢皇冠体育大学允许他追求这个机会, and will use what he learned in a new course this fall, "Congress and U.S. Foreign Policy." Elliott, in his final semester at Pomona, will be in the class. Boduszyński希望他能告诉处于职业生涯中期的人们，尝试新事物还为时不晚, 而且“类似实习的经历不会在你年轻的时候就结束.他发现，刘云平办公室的许多员工都比他年轻, but says "you just put aside any ego. I have already done lots of stuff in my life, 但我还有很多东西要向更了解国会的年轻人学习. 最终，我来到这里是为了支持Lieu议员的议程，并成为团队的一员."
对人们来说，理解不同的观点从来没有像现在这样重要, Boduszyński says, 他和艾略特都近距离地看到，不同政治派别的立法者正在共同制定立法，试图重建桥梁. 与外交政策有关的立法是两党经常合作的一个领域.
"A lot of Americans think bipartisanship is starting to dwindle, 但也有相当数量的两党法案在众议院以绝大多数通过," Elliott says. “一些民意调查表明，作为一个国家，我们和内战期间一样两极分化, 但值得注意的是，政府仍在把事情做好. 它故意缓慢而有条不紊，因为失误会带来灾难性的后果."