Policy, Public Service, and Putting Yourself Out There with Andre Achacon

In this episode of Beach Peeps, CSULB Vice President of Student Affairs Beth Lesen sits down with political science major Andre Achacon to talk about advocacy, public service, and taking intentional risks.

Andre shares how he jumped into Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) during his first year at The Beach and quickly found his passion for student advocacy. That passion led him to the prestigious Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program, where he spent a semester preparing at Cal State Monterey Bay before heading to Washington, D.C., to intern in Congress.

While in D.C., Andre worked directly in a congressional office, answering constituent calls, contributing to communications strategy, producing video content, and navigating the realities of a federal government shutdown. The experience, which he describes as the most transformative of his college career, helped him discover his interest in political and public communications.

Now serving as a communications intern for Congressman Robert Garcia, Andre reflects on how every risk he’s taken, from moving away from home to putting himself in uncomfortable environments, has shaped his path.

His advice for new students is simple but powerful: show up, take strategic risks, and reflect on what you learn along the way.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I decided that I wanted to go to DC. So I applied for the Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program. Luckily, I was selected. It's a very intense program. It's a big deal.

SPEAKER_03 0:10

Like you have to leave for a semester. It's not just a week, it's a whole big deal.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

We were at the Cal State Monterey Bay campus for approximately two weeks, and we had classes from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every single day. So we took all of this experience, the academic part of it, and we took it with us to Washington, D.C. We were there for about two and a half months.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Where did you live?

SPEAKER_00 0:34

We lived in a hotel. It was like a 15-minute walk from the Capitol. I was answering phone calls from constituents who were very concerned about ongoing national issues. And they gave me even more responsibility to do video production, help with communication strategy, do rapid response to breaking news, really contributing to the core communications operations.

SPEAKER_03 0:56

Would you recommend the Panetta internship experience to other students?

SPEAKER_00 1:01

I would absolutely. It was the most transformative experience that I've had in college.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

I'm Beth Lesson, Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment at Cal State Long Beach. And this is Beach Peeps, a podcast about students, stories, and the interesting things happening on campus and beyond.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Where should I look?

SPEAKER_03 1:25

At me.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Oh, okay. Okay, cool. Sounds good.

SPEAKER_03 1:28

Hi Andre.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Hello, how are you? I'm doing good. How are you?

SPEAKER_03 1:32

Good. I know you, but there are people who are gonna watch this who might not. So why don't you tell the good folks a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Um well I'm Andre, and I'm a third-year undergrad student studying political science, and I recently declared a minor in communication studies as well. Um thank you. And I started in 2023 and I first got really involved with campus through student government.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

You started strong. You like burst on the scene.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

I tried my best, and so I was happy to be part of Associated Students Incorporated, and that's where I met a lot of my closest friends um who I constantly hang out with and uh today, and like that's how I get through the semester. And then I also learned about campus through different, you know, resources and so many programs, and I was able to participate in a lot of advocacy and learned about what public service is like.

SPEAKER_03 2:28

A lot, a lot of advocacy.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

Yeah, lots of advocacy and a lot of public service and a lot of meeting people on this campus and what it means to be a student at Cal State Long Beach. And um, after two years of being in student government, um I, you know, went to DC this past semester and I took my experiences uh as being as a student government executive, as vice president of finance, and I was able to learn about serving the American public um as an intern for Congress, working for Representative Jimmy Gomez. And so I've taken every single experience here at Cal State Long Beach and um.

SPEAKER_03 3:07

How old are you?

SPEAKER_00 3:08

I'm 20.

SPEAKER_03 3:09

20 years old.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:11

All right, that's a lot for 20. So I want to start before I want to get right into the internship, but right before I do, I want to ask you're a student who got involved with ASI um student government in your very first year here. And most students don't become an ASI executive in their first year. So I'm just curious, could you share a little bit about how that came to pass for you?

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Yeah. So, well, first off, you know, joining student government as a first-year student, first time living in Southern California, first time meeting like dozens of students, first time living away from parents and living in the dorms. It was, I was very nervous about it being a super overwhelming and difficult experience adjusting to college while also being in a advocacy role, uh being on lobby corps for ASI. Um, however, I uh in high school I was very invigorated by student advocacy. And I was already doing K-12 education advocacy. So I was, you know, working with a lot of people, learning from different perspectives and trying to enact policy that made our lives easier as students. And so I found that particularly enjoyable and very rewarding, which is so you knew, like when you were coming here, you knew you wanted to do student government. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:36

Because you were like a student government kid in high school and you were like, I'm gonna do that when I go to college, dude.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Yes, I was a student government kid in high school. Um, but it was much more like programming focused, like planning the homecoming and prom. Yeah. But as soon as I got to college, like I loved that our student government at Cal State Long Beach is specifically focused on advocacy and making our experiences as students really great as much as that we possibly can as student leaders.

SPEAKER_03 5:04

Yeah, it's not really about throwing parties.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Yes. Um, as much as ASI does that, yes, and that's awesome to do.

SPEAKER_03 5:10

Like it's an important thing to do.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Yeah. So, um, and what made me be able to stick with student government and avoid feeling overwhelmed is really the relationship part of uh ASI is I was quickly clicked with a lot of the people in student government. And as I mentioned, I built a lot of friendships and relationships, um, some of my best friends in student government. And apart from those in student government, our role is really to connect students with different resources and initiatives on campus. Yeah. So I was able to meet people from different uh parts of campus, like our cultural organizations. Um, I met a lot of people who were in our um fraternity and sorority life, and people who, you know, helped with the resource centers and then just also people in academia, like meeting professors and seeing how like our advocacy connected with academia and school and classes and whatnot.

SPEAKER_03 6:13

Um really connected you with a lot of people that you might not otherwise have connected with if you weren't involved.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:21

Now, in your year, because you weren't ASI this year, you were ASI last year. Um, in your year, it was interesting because there were three executives, all of whom want to be attorneys or politicians. Like you're all intensely political.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:36

Um, and since then, you have become even more intensely political. Starting with that Panetta internship and then moving on to your current position, which is I'm a communications intern for Congressman Robert Garcia. Yeah, so intensely political.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 6:54

The Panetta internship you needed to apply for, and we needed to put you forward as a university to go. So you were the Panetta intern from Cal State Long Beach. How did you learn about the Panetta internship? And what made you it? It's a very intense program. It's a big deal. Like you have to leave for a semester. You're not, it's not just a week, it's a whole big deal. So, what made you decide that you were going to make that kind of a long-term commitment to this program?

SPEAKER_00 7:25

Yeah. So I first discovered the Panetta uh Inter Congressional Internship uh my first year. So I was still involved in ASI and I was trying to figure out what next steps I wanted to take so that I could continue giving back to my campus and community and also advancing my uh academic and career preparation. And I had two things on I had my eyes on. And one of them was to become a student government executive, serving as vice president of finance. Tech. Um, or you know, apply to the Panetta internship program. And I found the internship through some of my mentors in ASI and people who are leading the organization. Um, but ultimately I decided first that I wanted to gain some experience on campus as a Panetta inter or I wanted to gain some experience on campus as a vice president of finance and also take some more courses. Yeah. Um, and so that's what I did. I ran for vice president of finance and was elected. And then I did that full year serving um ASI and our campus community with uh within financial initiatives and whatnot. And then um, when April came around, that's when I decided, okay, do I want to continue doing student government or do I want to go to DC? And I decided that I wanted to go to DC. So I applied for the Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program. And luckily I was selected. And what is it?

SPEAKER_03 8:55

What is the Panetta Congressional Internship Program? Like, what did you do? How long was it? Like, I understand it's a very intense experience.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Yeah, it was very intense for sure, starting from the beginning, just the selection process of interviewing with the institute. So, first off, the Panetta Institute um was founded by Secretary Leon Panetta and his wife Sylvia Panetta, who's the CEO of the organization. And it's they're based in at the Cal State Monterey Bay campus, and they oversee um and offer a variety of uh academic opportunities and practical experiences, one of them being the internship program. Um Secretary Leon Panetta, he was um Secretary of Secretary of Defense, I think. He was Secretary of Defense Um and CIA director. And um he took all of his experiences and his relationships and connections to create the institute to build the next generation of public service leaders. And um uh his institute has been their institute has been growing and continuously offering programs for like over 20 years. What did they have you do?

SPEAKER_03 10:11

Um what was your experience like?

SPEAKER_00 10:13

Yeah. And so we were able to meet so many different people in public service, ranging from people in um local government, city council, all the way up to uh White House advisors to the president.

SPEAKER_03 10:27

Like who did you meet?

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Um, I don't recall their exact names, but I met I swear they work in the White House. Yes, yeah. And so so we met some folks who worked for President Jimmy Carter. They were um deputy chief of staff, which is Oh, that's a big deal. Yeah, which is a very close position, uh, advising and assisting the president and carrying out his uh daily operation. Yeah. Um, and then we learned about you know local officials and their day-to-day and like how, you know, how much local government affects every person's lives in the city. Um, and so we learned a lot. It was a very intense uh how long were you there? We were in um we were at the Cal State Monterey Bay campus for approximately two weeks and we had classes from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every single day, and we had 15-minute breaks in between each class.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

Eight to six with 15-minute breaks.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

Yes, that is correct. We did have lunch, so that was nice. That's good. Um, and so yeah, we met like over 20 to 30 different uh public officials and uh researchers, uh, and leaders in government.

SPEAKER_03 11:40

And then you went to DC.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

Yeah, so we took all of this experience um and you know, the academic part of it, and we took it with us to Washington, DC. We were there for about two and a half months, and it was a cohort of over 20 students from the CSU and um other private institutions, and we all lived together um and you know, lived our lives together.

SPEAKER_03 12:05

And about how many people total would you say are we in the program?

SPEAKER_00 12:09

Um around 20 to 24 students.

SPEAKER_03 12:13

So pretty small group.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Yeah, it was pretty pretty intimate and we got to know each other pretty closely.

SPEAKER_03 12:17

Yeah. And then what did you do while you were in DC? So you did your classroom experience at Monterey Bay, but then you went to DC and you When we went to DC, we interned for Congress.

SPEAKER_00 12:28

Each of us was placed in a congressional office. Um, and we were working from, you know, for some of us it was eight to six, for some of us it was nine to five, Monday to Friday. Some of us worked from home on some days, but we all had very, we each had our own experience and different schedules and whatnot. But we all gained that core experience of working for a congressional member.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Where did you live?

SPEAKER_00 12:53

We lived in a hotel.

SPEAKER_03 12:55

Oh, you spent two and a half months living in a hotel.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

So we lived two and a half months living in a hotel. It was uh I was living with a roommate, each of us had a roommate, and uh it was like a 15-minute walk from the Capitol.

SPEAKER_03 13:08

Oh, that's exciting. Yeah. And what did you do for your Congress critter?

SPEAKER_00 13:13

So initially I was helping with a lot of administrative and operational stuff. So I was answering phone calls from constituents who were very concerned about ongoing national issues um and changes to federal resources and funding.

SPEAKER_03 13:29

And did you answer you answered the phones? Yes. And you wrote down what correct people were?

SPEAKER_00 13:34

Yeah, I answered the phone calls, wrote down messages, um, directed them to resources that they could reach out to. Um, and then for those that left messages, I uh noted it down, sent it up to my supervisor who would then send it up to our member of Congress to hopefully act on. Um and then later into my internship, I was able to uh you had a kind of cool experience, right?

SPEAKER_03 13:59

Something happened in the middle of your internship.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

Yes. Um we so we had uh a national summit at the beginning of my internship, and I was tasked with a very complex role of um capturing photography for the event, and it was very fast paced because we needed to get it out to our platforms within like 10 minutes of each uh Oh, yeah, that makes sense. And so it was very fast-paced. I was able to gain the trust of a lot of our staffers. Sometimes I and I also gained the trap trust of senior staffers as well, and they gave me even more responsibility to do video production, help with communication strategy, do rapid response to breaking news um and media monitor monitoring, and really contributing to the core communications operations.

SPEAKER_03 14:50

It's a must much more robust role than what you were originally said to do.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

So I was doing, you know, I kind of started to move away from the administrative and uh operational stuff, but I was still juggling both. Yeah. And so that taught me how to do multiple things at once and um support multiple different bosses at the same time and produce the best work. And then unfortunately, um not even halfway through the internship. We were supposed to be there for two and a half months, maybe um a month in, the federal government shut down uh due to what was that like being in Washington, DC as an intern during the federal government shutdown? It was quite depressing, but I learned a lot, surprisingly. Why was it depressing? It was depressing because um people were not getting paid, yeah, people were getting furloughed, and they lost some people, you know, as interns, we were we lost our internships essentially for however long the um the foot shutdown would be take place, and it ended up being the entirety of our internship. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:01

You could really feel it.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Yes, it was very low morale. Um, there was not a lot of bipartisan effort and compromise, so you could feel that in the political spaces. Uh, and you know, Democrats and Republicans weren't able to agree on a funding bill that would fund the entirety of our federal government. So that ranged from congressional staff all the way to TSH agents and um people worked at the post office.

SPEAKER_03 16:27

So really tough time for you to be an intern there.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

Yes, but um, I learned a lot about you know the federal government as an intern during the shutdown, um, because I could see like how much the federal government actually impacted Americans day to day and especially people in the federal workforce.

SPEAKER_03 16:46

Things that you maybe never thought of before.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Yeah, definitely. And um, I since I had a lot of free time uh on my hands, since I suddenly was all freed up. As I was I was working 40 hours uh a week and then government shut down literally nothing. So I had two choices. I could stay at home, or actually had three choices. I could stay at home and not do anything with you know this paid experience in Washington, DC. Yeah. Two, I could explore the East Coast. So a lot of us interns went to go see national parks or went to New York City or visited Boston, uh Philadelphia. And that's what you chose to do. I did some of that. Some of that. And then the third option was um unique to me, but since my senior staff really wanted me to continue supporting their team, um, I was able to help out on the unofficial side, which was still in compliance with house rules and ethics. Um, so I was helping with uh the congressman's unofficial platform, still producing content.

SPEAKER_03 17:47

And so you did still get to intern.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

Yes. So it was lucky. It was a like an unofficial internship. Yeah. But since I was able to provide and contribute meaningful um contributions to the congressman's priorities, they had me come in. Um, you know, I worked remotely and I would work on different tasks uh in addition to exploring the East Coast with my actual free time. And I also was able to meet so many more people because um I was able to connect with congressional staff, um, grab coffee with them and just pick their brain about how to be successful working at the Capitol and how to be a successful public servant. And I think that too.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

And you know, I said for a minute, for a quick second, I just said, wow, you got lucky, but you didn't really get lucky. It wasn't about luck. It was about you distinguishing yourself and showing that you had something to contribute above what you were originally asked to do. And that's why you wound up having that experience, not because of luck.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

I think the combination of luck and what you do with that luck.

SPEAKER_03 18:58

I think you made your own luck. And then you came back and got a job.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Correct.

SPEAKER_03 19:04

And tell me about your job now.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Yeah, so um honestly, every single thing that I've been able to do in college is specifically unique to the resources at Cal State Long Beach and the people, the network, and I am not paying him to say this, by the way. Um, I'm like, I've been so grateful to every person that I've met here on this campus. Um, and I was able to get an internship uh through at Congressman Robert Garcia's uh district office. And so I helped the communications team. Um I'm specifically supporting actually Washington, D.C. staff, but from California. So I get help with district-related events. Uh recently we had a press conference and I was able to do camera operation and help, you know, staff the congressman and produce content which amplified his messaging so that constituents were able to access, you know, federal resources, what's going on with our government, different legislative bills. And it's been particularly rewarding because uh Congressman Garcia represents Long Beach. Yeah, he represents Cal State Long Beach. Um, and being able to be part of his team has been very rewarding and being able to serve the constituents and the community that I'm actually a part of.

SPEAKER_03 20:24

Yeah, he's actually he's also because he he's an alum, we know this, he's an alum of Cal State Long Beach, and because of his connection to the institution, he really loves to hire people from Cal State Long Beach. So you you were perfect for this position, um, not just because you went go to school here, but also because of what you were just doing in the Panetta internship that lined you up perfectly for that for that job. Yeah, that worked out really well. Yes. So, what was your favorite um part? First of all, would you recommend the Panetta internship experience to other students?

SPEAKER_00 21:04

I would absolutely recommend the Panetta internship, even though it was super challenging. It was the most transformative experience that I've had in college. And that's a that says a lot because my experience serving as a student government executive in itself was also transformative. Um, but being a part of the Panetta Institute program was even more transformed.

SPEAKER_03 21:28

It changed your life. Yeah. You think it really changed your life? Yeah. And so you would recommend this not just to people, like only to people who want to be politicians or or lawyers?

SPEAKER_00 21:39

Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_03 21:40

It's good for anybody.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

I think that anyone who's interested in contributing to their community can have a takeaway from being part of the internship program because it's all about public service, it's all about learning and being in an uncomfortable and new environment. And that's exactly. Experience that I got.

SPEAKER_03 22:01

When do you graduate?

SPEAKER_00 22:03

I don't know yet. You don't know?

SPEAKER_03 22:06

Because you took a semester to do this internship. So did that delay your graduation?

SPEAKER_00 22:09

No, it actually advanced my uh graduation, which makes things even more confusing. What do you mean? Um, so typically students are enrolled in 12 to 15 units if they're taking courses full-time. Yep. And for me, I've generally been, you know, taking 12 to 15 units, but this internship program was 20 units for the semester. So it was almost like a semester and a half of credits that went towards my graduation requirements.

SPEAKER_03 22:36

That's super important because for anyone who is listening, if they're thinking, well, that's great, but I can't take a semester off from school, it's important to know that you're not taking a semester off from school. You're actually getting more credit than what you would get in a normal semester. Yes. So now you're not sure when you graduate because you're ahead.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

Correct. So I'm unsure of if I'm gonna graduate early or not, but uh this internship and because I've taken a full course load every semester, I've I'm now in a situation or um I'm able to have the um luxury of you know graduating early and having that choice.

SPEAKER_03 23:15

Yeah, that's amazing. You said that you um where where are you from? You said that you moved to Long Beach to go to school. So where are you from?

SPEAKER_00 23:23

I'm from Santa Rosa, which is up in Northern California.

SPEAKER_03 23:25

That is that's right north of San Francisco. Correct.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

And it's right next to Sonoma State University, our sister campus.

SPEAKER_03 23:32

So what made you decide Cal State Long Beach?

SPEAKER_00 23:34

Um, I really wanted to be in Southern California. I wanted to. Yeah, it's uh it's been lovely, you know, very nicely positioned where we are. Yes. And I also um there was just a lot of resources here at at campus. Yeah. And I was very excited to come here.

SPEAKER_03 23:53

Good. And I I'm assuming that you're pleased that you did.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

Yes, definitely. And I think a big part of why I wanted to come to Southern California is like I like the same reason why I put myself out there for the Panedic program going out to DC. I wanted to be in a new environment and challenge myself and be around like-minded people. And that's exactly the experience I've gotten here.

SPEAKER_03 24:15

How's that working for you?

SPEAKER_00 24:16

It's been working great. And I think every single risk that I've taken has been very intentional. Um, and you know, the risk of moving away from my family and you know, that could have ended up terribly. But um, I've had a I had a positive experience going to DC. That could have been so scary. Uh, and it was, but it ended up being like the best decision I've ever made.

SPEAKER_03 24:43

And what do you do for fun? Because you work a lot. I mean, a lot of your choices have been around public service and you know, getting good work experience. But what do you just when you just want to blow off steam? Do you have any time like that?

SPEAKER_00 25:01

Yeah, I think so. Admittedly, these past two years, I have been hustling very hard. Yeah. Um, so Loki got tired a little bit. I bet. Um, so now I'm taking this semester because I can also I also have additional units and flexibility.

SPEAKER_03 25:19

Are you taking like a pottery class? Because that would make give me joy in my heart.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

I'm still taking courses related to my uh my major. Yeah. Um, but since I was able to add that communications minor, um, which is more fun.

SPEAKER_03 25:33

But that's still work.

SPEAKER_00 25:34

But with that being said, I feel like you need a tap dancing class. With that being said, I reduced, I usually take 15 units every semester. I'm only taking 12 right now. Okay, that's good. Um, still full time, but I decided to like take classes that will allow me to have more time to do other things. So some things I like to do are I've been trying to stay active. Okay. Um so going to a gym or running or something. I I have been really working hard to get my fitness up. So nice. I've um, you know, go to the gym consistently. I love hikes. Um, I learned that I needed to get more sunlight in my life. So we all need more sunlight. So I started going on more hikes with friends, um, just appreciating nature. And that's also very unique to Long Beach is that we have yeah, great weather. It's sunny, whereas, you know, unfortunately, actually in DC, it's like there's a snowstorm.

SPEAKER_03 26:27

I know in the rest of the country, it's five degrees. Yeah. Yes, exactly. We we have we owe it to people to take advantage of this weather. So um let's say, so you've done you're almost done with three years here. You've done a lot while you're here, you've connected with a lot of students and many employees, and now local government. Right. If you were to give advice to a brand new student coming here or just having arrived at Cal State Long Beach, someone who's just embarked on their Cal State Long Beach journey, what advice would you have to offer?

SPEAKER_00 27:05

I think the biggest advice that I could give to a brand new student, a freshman or transfer student is to really, really put yourself out there. And I already said this, but to it's so important for you to uh put yourself in uh new environments, uncomfortable situations, and to take strategic risks. Um and you know, take a chance on yourself. So, like if you try out as many different things as you can, you'll figure out eventually what you like. And I've done so many different things uh past two years, but I didn't realize that I wanted to go into political and public communications until like two months ago. Yeah. And now I'm taking that passion and I'm gonna run with it. Um, but if I didn't put myself out there, I would have still been, uh I would have still had that uncertainty and not known what I want to pursue post post graduation.

SPEAKER_03 28:10

And how? How does someone put themselves out there? What does that look like? I'm a brand new student, you're telling me put myself out there. What do I do? How do I do that?

SPEAKER_00 28:18

Yeah. So putting yourself out there could be um as little as uh if you live in the dorms, it could be as little as going up to someone at a housing event or well, first go to the housing event. Go to the housing event. Um, particularly in the first week, first few weeks of um just the semester. Yeah, people are eager to meet new people. Yeah. So you don't want to be the person who stays in their dorm. You want to be the person who goes outside of their dorm and meets other people in the dorms. Yeah. So close in proximity, make the most of it.

SPEAKER_03 28:57

And that really can go for the whole campus, right? Even if you don't live on campus, yeah, go to something.

SPEAKER_00 29:03

Go to events. Um, we have events all across campus. Our campus is a great job of creating programs for um different communities, yeah, different identities and different um interests. And so find an area that just show up. That yeah, just show up. Um, so something as little as that, and then something as big as committing to a student organization and signing up for volunteer roles or uh getting elected to a leadership role and you know, having that on your resume and just meeting the people in that student organization is gonna really take you far.

SPEAKER_03 29:40

Yeah. So show up and then do something. Yes. And that's that's it. And you'll be good. Everything's gonna be just fine.

SPEAKER_00 29:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 29:49

Okay. I love that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 29:51

But you want to show up, do something, and then once you're done doing it, make sure you reflect. I think that's nice. That's a nice super duper critical. Um after this internship, I could have just done the internship and then moved on. Yeah. But instead, I did the internship and I thought very deeply what did I like about this and what did I hate about this? There was not a lot of things that I hated.

SPEAKER_03 30:12

I was just gonna ask you, what did you hate?

SPEAKER_00 30:14

Um, but what I did love is the public service. Yeah. Um, I would love to go to the East Coast and live there at some point.

SPEAKER_03 30:21

Um it's ridiculously cold.

SPEAKER_00 30:23

Yes, yeah, definitely. New environment, something to, you know, maybe I'll love it. Take that. I'm a lot older than you are. Um, so yeah, reflect because once you do something, you learn a lot about the people around you, your community, the world, and most importantly, yourself.

SPEAKER_03 30:40

Uh that's the perfect note to end on. Thank you so much, Andre.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

Of course. Thanks for having me on Beach Peeps.

SPEAKER_03 30:46

On Beach Peeps. It's been a pleasure.