Hi, My name is Matthew Wu. During this legislative session, I got to intern for Sierra Club thanks to a program called Capitol Pathways. Thanks to that, I’ve gotten to work on important projects that will affect my (and everyone in Minnesota’s) future. I’ve gotten a ton of opportunities I wouldn’t have had or known about, built important professional and life skills, and opened up new possibilities to me in advocacy and non-profit work.
What is Capitol Pathways?
In recent years, a lot of attention has been brought to underrepresentation of minority groups in certain professions, particularly in the STEM fields. However, the same problem gets much less attention in a different field: public policy. Of Minnesota’s 201 state legislators, only 12 self-identify as a minority, 3 African American, 2 Latino, 2 Asian, and 1 Somali. Those groups account for almost 20% of the population, yet only 6% of our elected representatives, and the numbers are not much better in other staff and advocacy positions around the Capitol.
Enter Capitol Pathways. Capitol Pathways is a program organized by the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization Citizen’s League, with the goal of making our government truly representative of the community, by opening the doors of the Minnesota Capitol to the next generation leaders of color. Capitol Pathways places undergraduate students interested in policy with various government and policy organizations in the Twin Cities for a semester long paid internship, providing opportunities and financial support that allow them to get exposure to careers in policy and help them get their foot in the door. Interns work for public agencies, politicians, and at various private organizations that have advocates at the Capitol (Like Sierra Club’s own Justin Fay).
Capitol Pathways helps tackle many of the issues that prevent minorities from taking policy internships or pursuing careers in policy. My fellow cohort member Eman Soliman gave a quote that sums it up nicely,
"When I first heard about this internship, I was really impressed by the program that gears toward empowering students of color and ingenious groups through exposing them to careers in policy and government affairs as well as provide students with a first hand experience with the legislative process in action; meanwhile expanding our professional network circle.
Not only that this internship benefits the students in many ways, it is also a paid internship which makes a huge difference. Many of us are offered great internship that are not paid so we are sometimes pressured to turn those opportunities down because we have to work to support our families and ourselves to pay for school. I am so honored and fortunate that I have been part of the Capitol Pathways Program for all the things that I learned and most importantly for empowering me to see myself as a future policymaker"
Just as importantly though, they recognize that the experience of minorities is different as well, and that they may face different challenges and situations than the norm. That’s why they provide training and a support system in the form of legislative bootcamp, cohort meetings, and personal check-ins. They really work to provide a positive and rewarding experience that students can come out of well equipped for what they choose to do next.
For me personally, more than anything else, Capitol Pathways has changed the way I view government. I always thought of the people in government as a different kind of person than me, immaculate robotic professionals. Very highbrow and inaccessible. Even just last year, I was a Political Science major and didn’t really understand how the government worked, and had no plans for what to do after graduation. Working for Sierra Club, attending committee hearings and shadowing at meetings, has really broken down that image. The people up at the Capitol are people just like me (well not just like me, most of them have their life a little more together than I do) and they’re not doing anything I couldn’t do with some experience. One of the speakers at our training sessions said it best, “The people at the Capital just wear their suits better.” Capitol Pathways has really opened my eyes to possible careers in public policy, and even connected me with further opportunities while I’m still at school. It has really been an inspiring program.
Capitol Pathways is a great program that continues to grow every years as more hosts and students buy in to their long term goal, to make the government truly representative of our wonderful and diverse communities.