Jessica Teran Salazar
- Major: Psychology, Natural Sciences Education minor
- Semester in which you participated: Spring 2018
- Internship: During the UCDC program I was a congressional intern for the office of Rep. Aguilar who represents California’s 31st district. As a congressional intern I was responsible for scheduling tours for constituents, giving tours of The Capitol and helping with day to day office task. One of my key responsibilities was answering phone calls from constituents. Towards the end of my internship, I was able to attend sit in meetings with legislative assistants. One of the highlights of my internship was actually my last day where I was given the opportunity to attend a press conference and helped stream it in Facebook live.
Why did you choose the UCDC Program?
I decided to apply to the UCDC program because of the political climate that we face today. Coming from a low income immigrant family, I had the opportunity to study and work in Washington DC which helped me to not only grow as an individual but also gave me a chance to see change happen. Despite being a Psychology major, I was an intern for a member of the House of Representatives because I wanted to learn more about policy making. My true passion is education and I hoped that being in a place where education policy is made, would give me the opportunity to understand education from a different perspective.
What was the highlight of your semester in DC?
The highlight of my semester was the weekend trip my roommate and I took to New York. For less than fifty dollars we found roundtrip bus tickets to New York. We left at 5am and then stayed with a friend who lives there and she showed us around the city. While we were there, I got to explore Times Square alone, attend an app launch party and visit the Brooklyn Bridge.
What did you do on your own time while in DC?
During my time in DC I eat out a lot and tried different kinds of foods. I visited museums during the day and went out dancing in the evenings. I didn’t have work or class on Fridays so I also visited Disney World while I was there since it was only a two hour flight. I went to a book talk during one of my days in DC and had the chance to meet one of my idols, Jorge Ramos, a Mexican-American author/reporter.
What advice would you give students considering this program?
Apply to internship positions early and keep a spreadsheet where you keep track where you have applied, if you have interviews and follow up emails. It’s competitive and you will need to apply to a lot of different internships. If you aren’t organized it might get overwhelming. Also, make sure to do all the fun stuff as soon as you get the chance because time flies by there.
How does the program relate to where you are right now in your career/educational path? Do you think it prepared you well for your future goals? Did it influence your decisions in any way?
After I came back to Merced in May, I graduated and was hired on as a staff member for the CalTeach program at UC Merced. The UCDC definitely helped prepare me for post grad life. While I was in DC I had the opportunity to meet people from different parts of the country which helped me improve how I work with others. Meeting people who had different experiences, ideas and backgrounds than I did helped me become a more open minded individual. This is a skill that has helped me tremendously.
