Hello! My name is Zachery Craig, and I am entering my final year studying Social Studies and Secondary Education. For my Beyond the Classroom experience this summer, I interned on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. for Senator Jon Tester. My internship was three months long, where I’d work 40 hours a week answering phone calls, giving tours of the Capitol Building, and doing projects. I got to meet amazing people I will call my friends for the rest of my life while in the internship. The staff I worked under were very kind and taught me a lot about how politics works behind the scenes. It was amazing to see all of these important figures daily, even getting to talk to a few!

This is the photo of me with Senator Tester. We got to talk to him a lot, more than most interns get to talk to the Senator they work for.

I’ve never had an extensive period of living in a large city by myself until this experience. It was a little frightening at first, but I felt like I was able to adapt to the city. Washington D.C. has a really good public transportation system that I was able to master pretty quickly. I stayed in an Airbnb that was about a 40-minute commute from the office building I worked in. I got to explore most of the city, going to most of the museums and all of the monuments except for the Jefferson. As a Social Studies major, it was truly awe-inspiring to see both the history and politics of the city. Some of my favorite things I did this summer was go to Baltimore to see the National Aquarium, tour the White House and watch fireworks during the Fourth of July from the steps of the Capitol Building!

In this picture, I’m standing next to the first-ever Congresswoman in the nation, Montana’s own Jeannette Rankin. Each state sends two statues to be displayed in the Capitol, the other one from MT is of Charlie Russell.

I was placed with the Judiciary and Indian Affairs team during my time in the office. As a result, I attended a lot of hearings throughout the summer focusing on those areas. I’d research judges who were sent to the floor to be voted on, look at water rights and Homeland Security bills, and write memos that summarized what a bill did and who supported it. As a result, I got to learn about the bill process and judiciary nomination process, which I think will prove invaluable to me as a future educator. I also went to the Senate floor a lot to see Senators speak on issues. I made it a goal of mine to see every single Senator, and I managed to see 99 out of 100. I ran into some while eating lunch, saw some in committee hearings, or walked by them while in the office building. I even talked to a few, if even for a second. It was truly amazing to get to walk among these figures.

I took this picture of the Reflecting Pool and Washington Monument while I visited the Lincoln Memorial.

My GLI Global Theme and Challenge is Inequality & Human Rights. I made it a point to focus on Indian Affairs issues because of my theme. I attended hearings on issues that face the Indigenous community, mainly focusing on water rights issues. I also attended a panel from the staff of the Indian Affairs Committee. It is one of the most bipartisan committees as the issues facing the Indigenous community aren’t too political or controversial in nature.

Overall, I’ve learned a lot during this experience. My leadership skills improved throughout because I took risks in the office, taking on projects to keep me busy, and also because I was surrounded by the political leaders of America. The staff I worked under had a great leadership mentality that I will look to mimic in my career. I think an internship on Capitol Hill could be for anyone, regardless of political beliefs or area of study! There are so many broad opportunities in Washington, D.C. and I’ll forever be grateful to GLI for giving me the ability to experience some of those opportunities.

My name is Sadie, I’m a Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management major at UM. For my beyond the classroom experience, I studied abroad in New Zealand. My semester in the North Island was unforgettable to say the least! Within the Culture and Politics theme, I chose to study in Aotearoa because of the country’s reputation for outdoor recreation and care for the environment. I was interested in the ways they managed land for recreation while honoring the use capacity of the land. I took environmental planning courses that allowed me to gain a small glimpse into the planning processes that manage sustainable land use on the North Island. There are many key players when it comes to sustainable land and water usage, and learning about the ways in which they conflict or collaborate in this realm gave me the tools to more effectively work with others to find common ground solutions to complex environmental issues.

During my stay, and in these classes, I came to realize that New Zealand has a complicated relationship with sustainable land use, much like the US. Many of the waterways are exhausted with pollutants from the agricultural industries supporting the economy in the North. It was challenging and a shock to see rivers I could not swim in, unlike what I was used to in Missoula. It reminded me of how lucky I am to live in a community like Montana where clean water island public lands are a value shared by most. 

While there, I tried my best to seek out new experiences and push the boundaries of my knowledge. One of the ways I did this was to become involved with the Wildlife Club on campus, where I learned about the aggressive invasive species elimination tactics across the country, set on eliminating non-native species like stoats and hedgehogs, which are decimating native species of plants and animals. The tactics used were far more intense than what I had seen in the US. To further educate myself on this, I maintained trap lines in the Ruahine Range, got involved in native swamp and riparian area reconstruction, and I volunteered with the Wildbase Recovery Suite aimed at rehabilitating indigenous bird species and educating the public on their importance. These experiences allowed me to familiarize myself with the land, plants, and animals of Aotearoa in a way that far exceeded classroom learning. In these activities, I gained important leadership skills like collaboration and critical thinking, as I was often on an isolated team of volunteers that needed to make important decisions in the moment.

When I left home, I was incredibly worried that I wouldn’t make friends with people or fit into the campus environment. An important aspect of my lifestyle in Missoula was participating in local music, which I was anxious about leaving behind. To fix this, I got in touch with the Student Radio Network on my new university campus, Radio Control. Immediately, they took me in and became my family throughout the semester. I began hosting my own radio show “Missing Montana” focused on linking Montana artists with New Zealand, and participating in the local scene in Palmerston North by DJing and going to shows. I gained important conversational skills though interviewing artists live on air, and learned how to foster collaboration between global communities. 

Working the deck in Tiny Club Inside the sound booth during my radio show

Overall, my experience in Aotearoa was incredible and I’ve grown so much as an individual. I’ve been inspired to find more ways to connect my love for music with my passion for outdoor recreation. I hope to visit Palmy again soon and continue my work with Radio Control!