Mount Allison student explores climate change policy in Washington State
2010-11-16 12:21:42
Student completes internship with US senator as part of political science course
SACKVILLE, NB — Fourth-year Mount Allison University political science student and Seattle, WA resident Kevin Geiger spent last summer working as an intern for United States Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington. The internship is tied to an experiential learning course at Mount Allison that has Geiger working on a major paper connected to his work with the Senator.
Geiger worked in the Senator’s constituency office in Seattle He says, “We were the eyes and the ears for the Senator but we were also her voice when constituents came to hear about certain issues. There was a constant flow of information back and forth. It was an interesting dynamic.”
Geiger worked with Nate Caminos, the Regional Outreach Director for King County, Seattle. “Mr. Caminos walked me through the political process of working in the Senator’s office, the experiences and the practicalities and the issues that you need to deal with. It is one thing to learn by reading or by being in the classroom but to actually experience it first hand with someone guiding you was a wonderful opportunity. It has really broadened my interest in American politics and partners well with my studies at Mount A.”
As part of his job, Geiger prepared background reports and took minutes for meetings with many influential people in Washington State politics. He also assisted with the organization and planning of news conferences for Senator Cantwell.
According to Geiger the environment was a hot topic among constituents during the summer and was made especially relevant by the constant news coverage of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Back at Mount Allison this fall, Geiger is working on a paper on climate change policy in the United States under the guidance of political science professor Dr. Tamara Small. It was a course on Canadian Federalism however that sparked his original interest in climate change policy.
“I was inspired by my course with Dr. Small where I researched the same topic in the context of Canada. In this paper, I am going to talk about why climate change bills are so hard to pass in the United States, which ties together nicely with the practical aspects of working with the Senator,” Geiger explains. “I could not have done the internship if it had not been tied to an experiential learning course at Mount Allison.”
Senator Cantwell is well-known as an environmental champion and along with Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has introduced the Cantwell-Collins bill. The bi-partisan bill would create a program to regulate fossil carbon and promote renewable-energy jobs and economic growth.
Photo caption: Mount Allison University political science student Kevin Geiger with US Senator Maria Cantwell in Washington State. Geiger spent last summer working as an intern in Cantwell’s Seattle office and is now completing a major paper at Mount Allison connected with this experience.
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