Cam Migdol

4/26/15
CNS 220 Prof. Robinson
Informational interview #3
For this interview, I spoke with Adam Crowley. Adam graduated
from Wake Forest last year, with a major in political science and minors
in middle east studies, and economics. I found Adam through a
LinkedIn search, in which I searched for people from Wake Forest, living
in the DC area, with positions related to foreign policy. While Adam was
not the first connection to come up in the search, his name stood out,
as he was a former president of my fraternity. When I messaged Adam
I made sure to mention this unique connection, which certainly sparked
his interest. What was also advantageous was the timing of a recent
alumni event for our fraternity. Adam was here on campus for the
event, mutual friends of ours introduced us, and we were able to have
an interview in person.
Adams past experiences and positions are interesting to me, and
are jobs I have been looking into. Adam had a research fellowship
during the summer of 2013 with professor Walldorf in the political
science department. The research looked into public influence in US
foreign policy, an area of interest to both Adam and me. Adam also
worked as a Policy Intern for the Project on Middle East Democracy in
Washington, DC. Adam wrote several reports on the Middle East, and
he conducted research. Adam also had experience studying abroad in
Egypt during their revolution. Currently Adam is an intern on Capitol
Hill, working for Congressman John Garamendi of California. Adam is
also looking into other jobs in business, such as consulting.
In a typical day, Adam will answer calls from constituents who
may be concerned about an issue, or need help from the
congressmans office. Additionally Adam will read posts in the media
about issues relevant to California. Adam will send important news to
other staff members, and write op-eds for the congressman.
Sometiems Adam will brief Congressman Garamendi on certain issues.
Adam notes that his job requires skills in communication, working with
people, and keeping organized. Adam finds meaning in the fact that his
job benefits the public, and his work the government and the country.
He added that to get a position on Capitol Hill, you need to network
and know people working in Congress. Adam taught me that only a few
staffers in a politicians office have a salary. Most staffers and interns
either earn no pay, or are sponsored by grants or even companies. One
staffer, for example, provides the congressman and his office with
information on environmental issues, and her salary is paid by Shell.

Adam pointed out that he enjoyed his last internship more.

Working the Project on Middle East Democracy, Adam earned more
hands-on experience in working with policy and real issues, rather than
his current experience with politics and the work done in Congress and
political parties. Adam noted that he did not network or use
connections to earn his job in policy. He found the job position on
LinkedIn, sent in an application with his resume. Adam told me he
stood out among other applicants with his experience in research and
his trip to Egypt.
The advice and opinions Adam shared with me aligned well with
what I learned from Blake Taylor in my first interview. As Blake pointed
out, there is a difference in the experiences and work done in the real
of politics versus research and policy. From what both Blake and Adam
have shared with me, research and policy definitely seems more
interesting to me and align more with my skills and interests. Adam
pointed out that a lot of work with politicians is removed from actual
policy and issues, and pertains more to administrative tasks for the
office and the political party. Both Adam and Blake have shown me the
importance of gaining experience doing research as an undergrad. In
the coming semesters I will look into research opportunities, as well as
possible opportunities to do an independent study abroad.