TACOMA, Wash. - Junior
Ashley Stiles has been a member of the three-time defending Northwest Conference Champion Pacific Lutheran University women's rowing team for the past three years. Last year, Stiles was an alternate for the Lutes at the NCAA Division III Championships where the team finished seventh in the nation. Not only successful on the water, Stiles takes that same energy outside of the athletic atmosphere into her daily life.
As a political science major, Stiles is doing an internship at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia.
"I'm getting a really deep understanding of state government, of policy, and of law making. I'm also getting to essentially "job shadow" for about four months. It has really solidified my desire to work in politics in the future,"said Stiles.
Stiles experience at the Capitol has provided her with a unique perspective of what daily life is like in politics, particularly local politics.
"My experience has been a lot of ups and downs. Some days I'm really busy, and some days are pretty slow. Overall, my experience has been amazing. I'm learning a lot and I'm surrounded by people who are as passionate about politics as I am,"said Stiles. "It feels good to not be the only politics nerd around. I'm so grateful to get to be there every day I'm humbled by all of the amazing talented and brilliant people I get to work with and learn from."
A typical day for Stiles includes a lot of hands on activities. For example, tracking bills, making sure the senator knows when those bills will be on the floor, reading bills, and helping flag ones the senator might be interested signing onto, answering phones, emailing constituents back, making sure things are getting scheduled for the senator. Taking meetings with lobbyists and constituents are all in the schedule for Stiles.
"Right now I'm actually getting to write talking points for the bills that are being heard on the floor, it's really cool to hear your words being said on the senate floor by a real senator!"
One challenge Stiles has faced is being able to juggle the responsibilities of being a student-athlete and the internship. Prioritizing parts of her life that need to be has helped her continue to be successful in athletics, academics, and professionally.
"Balancing my life has been probably the biggest struggle thus far. It just requires being really meticulous. It means I run in the evenings or at lunch when I can, I get up in the mornings to erg, I skip going out with other interns on Friday nights so I can be awake and ready for practice on Saturday mornings,"said Stiles. "I'm still working in the office of admissions as well so I have to be sure I'm checking my emails, scheduling tours when I can, and keeping up with my responsibilities there as well. I actually have three calendars going at the moment to help me keep organized. I keep my 'Gcal,'my work email calendar, and my paper planner on my desk to make sure that I don't forget anything. So far it's working pretty well. I have my friends to help me keep track of things as well!"
Post-graduation, Stiles plans to take a year off to travel.
"After that I don't know exactly where or what I would like to do, but I do know it will be in politics. These past few months I have been so excited about my job, I'm excited to learn new things, even 80 page bills seem cool to me,"Stiles said. "I assume that one day I will return to Olympia to work for a little while at least. I love it there."
Part of Stiles love for the Capitol and her experience in Olympia has been because of her support system of teammates, and coaches.
"I wouldn't be able to do this without the immense support of my teammates and my coaches. They all accept my crazy schedule, work around my absence, and still find a way to help include me in everything they possibly can. They make me smile every Saturday morning, and I miss getting to spend every morning on the water with them."
