My Externship with Matthew Wasniewski

A few weeks ago I started my Externship, which has me working with Historians from Congress. Instead of working with just the Senate or the House side, I was lucky enough to be matched up with historians from both sides of the Congress.

On my first day of the externship, I got to work with Matthew Wasniewski, a Historian and Deputy of Chief at the Office of History and Preservation for the House of Representatives. Matthew first told me a bit about the responsibilities of the office. For one, it is responsible for the House's historical documents and official records from the House; it collects them, organizes them, and preserves them. They also conduct and collect oral interviews with Congressional and White House staff.

The Office also is responsible for the print and now, the online editions, of the biographies of Congressman. They also publish various books, such as one about women in Congress, along with brochures, art-related information, and necessary House publications.

Matthew and his staff introduced me to the Office of The Clerk website, and showed me some of its features, such as biographies, interesting random facts, and human pieces. In fact, I was assigned to write an interest piece about a former Representative for their website.

Afterwards, he took me around the U.S. Capitol and showed me the new exhibition, on which the House worked with the Senate to pick out themes and display pieces. Matthew told me about the statutes, which states donate, that are displayed in the Capitol. Until recently, they have been put away, and now they are decorating the hallways of the Capitol.

The newest part of the Capitol, which was recently constructed, is beautiful, with marble floors and priceless artifacts on display for the public. The murals and the infamous painted ceiling in the Capitol building also has an interesting background. The italian painter, who was very old, fell of the ladder while painting the walls and while he was fine, he decided to allow his apprentice to finish the job. The fact that two different artists worked on that masterpiece is not even evident, since it looks as if it is done by the same artist.

One of the most impressionable parts of the tour was when Matthew showed me the Women's Sitting Room, which used to be the Speaker's room, in which President John Quincy Adams died. He also showed me around the floor of the Congress, where I have never been before, and told me about the changes that have been made or are going to be made there. Not only that, but he told me how Congress exactly operates when it's in session, and threw in a few interesting stories about past events that occurred on the floor.

Overall, the time I spent with Matthew has been very informative. I learned about how his office works, and all the responsibilities and effort that goes into maintaining the historical documents of the House. I also got an incredible tour of the Capitol, and learned about all the facts, of which I was previously unaware, and that made Congress that much more interesting to me. I really enjoyed the time that I have spent there and learned a lot of important and interesting information about the Congress, especially the House side.

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As i said before, as part of this Externship, I got to work with historians from both sides of the Congress. The Historian from the Senate side with whom I was matched up is Donald Ritchie.

The duties of the Senate Historical Office are very similar to that of the House. This office is also responsible for collecting, preserving, publishing, and distributing historical information that deals with the Senate side. Since the Senate is significantly smaller than the House of Representatives, the Office is able to get much more detailed information about the Senators, and is slightly more ahead in various ways, such as photographs of Senatorial events, since they do not have to cover as many people as Matthew's office.

Just like the office for the House side, Don's office also upkeeps a website with biographies, needed up-to date information about the Senate, and even interest pieces. I was assigned to write a biographical piece about a former Senator for the office's website.

Besides the website duties, the office is also responsible for publishing pamphlets, informational guides and books. In fact, the Senate Historical Office often works with the House Historical Office on various projects. For instance, they both work together on deciding which pieces are showcased in the Capitol. Furthermore, the two offices worked together to publish the book "Women in Congress."

Both sides are also responsible for providing information to those who call and request information about the Congress, whether it's the outcome of a hearing, or a biography of a Congressman.

Overall, I am ecstatic about the chance to work with these two men. I think this Externship was an amazing experience and provided me with an inside look at the workings of the Congress, which has interested me for years, and is somewhere I hope to work one day. I got to hear in-depth stories about the history of the Congress, and was even told some amusing stories about various congressman and events that many people do not know about. I am really grateful for this opportunity to work with Matthew and Don, and feel that this externship was extremely beneficial in confirming my interest in government.