Six months ago if someone mentioned I might have an opportunity to live in Washington D.C. , meet hundreds of interns from around the country, and get to work with some of the most influential individuals in our government, I would’ve said, “You’re kidding me!”
Me with Representative Maloney
As a Congressional intern in the office of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of the 14th District of New York, I’ve had the chance to learn and be a part of many exciting events. Some of these include: both the House and the Senate hearings with Jamie Dimon (CEO of JPMorgan Chase), the hearing with Ben Bernanke (Chairman of the Federal Reserve), and the hearing with Eric Holder (Attorney General of the United States of America). Additionally, during my internship I had the chance of working with the Congresswoman on issues such as the healthcare bill, mobile banking, and real estate investing. Working with the Congresswoman, however, was not the only aspect of the internship program. Because of countless networking opportunities provided by SALDEF I have also made a countless number of friends from across the country! From all the interns in the SikhLEAD internship programs to the variety of interns around D.C., I owe a great deal of gratitude for these friendships and connections to the opportunity given to me by SALDEF. Thanks to the program there were also many experiences I enjoyed with my fellow interns. Dinners, networking events, and a hike were just a few of the many enjoyable events organized for us. But, the one that stood out to me the most was our leadership development program lead by Mr. Craig A. Bowman. It was truly wonderful to learn, develop and highlight leadership qualities and strategies necessary in our world today. But, what really drove me to enjoy the program was how we discussed our opinions and applications to our Sikh community. During the program we laid out a variety of problems that our community faces from discrimination to economic disparity and segregation. Finally, we discussed viable solutions that we as young leaders in the community could do to combat the issue. This was an influential program as it allowed us to see how issues within the Sikh community are not limited by region but are actually nationally widespread issues. Through this one element of the internship I had learned a substantial amount about leadership, the Sikh community, and my fellow interns. By understanding each others’ background, challenges, and strengths we were able to bond as a group of interns to make, what I hope, are lifelong friendships and connections. SALDEF truly gave me an opportunity to prove that although I am young, doesn’t mean I am less deserving. Four months ago, I made the decision of applying for this SikhLEAD Internship and it has been hands down one of the best experience of my life! I want to thank Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney’s office and staff as well as SALDEF and their staff for truly making this experience possible!
In front of the Capitol!
-Gurkaran S. Gulati
