VCC Magazine Spring 2018

V irginia C apitol C onnections , S pring 2018 15 Legislative Assistant Emily Bruzzo, Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg (District 72) a humanitarian imperative for all who care about our children and about the future of society. Ours is a cause that speaks across time and cultures, binding us to our ancestral colleagues who stepped forward in their moment in history and filled the breach that threatened the welfare of America’s youth. This is a cause that graces professional education and that confers dignity upon the exertions of members of the education profession. One would hope also that it is a cause that would have uplifted and instilled pride in the heart of the symbol of the landmark Supreme Court desegregation case, Linda Brown, who passed away just a few weeks ago, on March 25, 2018. Virginia Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, the Association of Teacher Educators-Virginia and Dean, College of Education, James Madison University. Legislative assistants By Salinna Lor Legislative assistants, by definition are “legislative staffers who work for a legislator by monitoring pending legislation, conduction research, drafting legislation, giving advice and counsel, and making recommendations.” At the Virginia General Assembly, legislative assistants are your go-to point of contact for any issues you wish to present to your legislator. The process of becoming a legislative assistant varies with each legislator. Leanne Mlincsek, a legislative assistant for Delegate Will Morefield, found herself in her position after participating in Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)’s Capitol Semester Program, where students are placed with a legislator to intern with during session. Leanne’s time interning with Delegate Dave Albo in 2017 under his legislative aide got her really involved in the General Assembly process. After she graduated fromVCU, she was offered a legislative assistant position with Delegate Will Morefield. “My experience has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve gotten to know some fun and interesting people, and they’ve helped and taught me a lot. Working with Marty (Chief of Staff for Delegate Morefield) has been a lot of fun, and getting to know Delegate Morefield and all of the folks from southwest Virginia has been a pleasure,” Mlincsek said. Delegate Morefield’s chief-of-staff, Marty Hall, and Mlincsek’s direct supervisor, has worked in public service all of his life. He started out as a deputy, worked with different commonwealth attorney’s, worked in the U.S. Senate, and decided he wanted to continue his work by becoming a part of Delegate Morefield’s staff. “The best part about this job is working with people. It’s fun. It’s something different everyday. I like the legislative part. I’ve worked on a few campaigns, but I like the legislative part the most because I like helping people. And I want to prepare for my retirement,” Hall said. Emily Bruzzo, legislative assistant for Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg, has also had a positive experience working in the General Assembly. “It’s an interesting thing, working toward becoming a legislative aide. Nine times out of ten, most LAs know their electeds in some capacity before they interview. In fact, sometimes after the campaign, it’s not even a question about who will be the aide, and there’s no formal interview at all,” Bruzzo said. Again, becoming a legislative assistant is a different process for almost everyone. “It’s the best advice I received, and the best advice I can give: If you know who you want to be an aide for, then you better do everything in your power to help their campaign. It’ll make you a better aide in the long run, and when you sit down to interview, like I did, you can look your potential boss in the eyes and say sincerely: “Look at my level of commitment. You can expect that and tenfold if you hire me as your aide. I know what you stand for; I talked about it for hours over the phones and at the doors,” Bruzzo said. “The best part of becoming an LA is the people. You get to meet all sorts of people. Whether it’s the folks who work in the Clerk’s office—my goodness, they are heroes, by the way—or constituents or other aides or lobbyists, this has been an exceedingly welcoming world where people have been nothing but generous and kind.” Salinna Lor is a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University studying public relations in the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture. She is the student editor of this magazine. In Service to Our Country Virginia Officials and their Military Service View Online: vccqm.org Session Aide Leanne Mlincsek, Delegate Will Morefield (District 3) Chief of Staff Marty Hall, Delegate Will Morefield (District 3) Continued from previous page V V