Notes from the Field: Erica Ng '19

Erica Ng ’19 comes from Seattle, WA and graduated from University Prep. At Dartmouth, Erica plans to pursue a major in Anthropology modified Human Centered Design and a minor in Public Policy. She is a research assistant with the Presidential Scholars Program, Vice President of the Dartmouth Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Team, a Dartmouth Tour Guide, and a Student Program Assistant for the Rockefeller Peer Mentoring Program with the Rockefeller Center. She has been fortunate to study abroad with Dartmouth programs in South Africa, Argentina, and New Zealand. After graduation, Erica plans to pursue her interests in policy, global health, academia, and product design.

Erica Ng '19 was funded by the Class of 1964 to serve as a Legislative Intern for U.S. Senator Patty Murray. The following is an excerpt from his internship report.

This fall, I served as a Legislative Intern for U.S. Senator Patty Murray. Senator Murray has represented the State of Washington for over 20 years. As the third ranking democrat, Senator Murray provides vital leadership in the Senate. She is the ranking member of the Senate Healthcare, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee as well as the Appropriations Committee. She has consistently advocates for improvements in education, healthcare, transportation, budget issues and women’s rights on the behalf of Washingtonians. She also demonstrates her ability to foster bipartisanship through her work.

As a Legislative Intern in Senator Murray’s office, I wrote and researched memos for the legislative staff on issues in foreign policy, global health, transportation, aerospace, tax reform, and the environment. I was also responsible for assisting staff with administrative duties such as responding to constituents, leading tours of the Capitol building, and tracking documents for the Senator to sign. I had additional assignments such as writing letters on flashpoint issues for the healthcare legislative aide on the HELP Committee and documenting and digitizing the Senator's speeches, statements, and hearing materials. I also designed and implemented new office-wide tracking systems for constituent issues, outgoing mail, and scheduling requests.

I plan to apply the knowledge from my internship experience in my public policy classes now that I better understand the political feasibility of certain policies and the way ideas are translated into bills and then into laws. Senator Murray and her staff work on the frontlines of the budget and healthcare battles in Congress, and this term I have been fascinated to see the policy debates in my public policy classes come to life. I really valued the access to advice from a wide range of staffers throughout the internship, and they have helped me develop a greater interest in pursuing a law degree in the future. I have always wanted to work for Senator Murray ever since I was a little kid because I found her so inspiring. I would not have been able to accept this internship without the generous grant from the Rockefeller Center and the Class of 1964. I would like to thank the Rockefeller Center and the Class of 1964 for enabling me to fulfill a childhood dream of mine.