Report of My Experience

1. During the two weeks that we were given to complete our senior projects I

worked in Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez office in City Hall (and in her

district office). While there, I assisted in a number of regular office related duties

(scanning paper, shredding documents etc. etc.), however I engaged in more

specific and worthwhile jobs as well. For example, while under the tutelage of my

mentor, I learned how to write citations. Citations are essentially written

recognitions from City Council that celebrate anything from an 8th grade

graduation to the accomplishments of a local musician. While at City Hall, I wrote

at least 100 citations, thereby making the day of at least 100 people. I also wrote

a few reports for my mentor about specific topics of interest, be it the opioid crisis

or the benefits of taxing disposable bags. I would do my research, or read reports

on said topics, and then type up a report of my own. This helped to give my

mentor insight on issues that may be important to constituents in the seventh

council district in Philadelphia. In addition to that, I also wrote a final report

regarding a topic of my choice, which turned out to be school funding, specifically

the funding of public schools in Pennsylvania. At the end of my project, I gave a

presentation on the report to the office, hoping to illuminate the issue to them. In

addition to those jobs, I also experienced City Council with my mentor. One day I

might go see a press conference given by Congresspeople Reynolds-Brown and

Greenlee, and the next I might sit in on a press conference regarding the police

departments purchase of 400 N Broad. I watched Council pass the Citys

 budget, and after that had wrapped up I was introduced to a handful of

Councilpeople. I sat in on meetings with the Councilwoman, and learned more

about what she does, and how she assists the community that she serves. I also

worked with other members of Councilwoman Gyms office on the states school

funding issue, and, in conjunction with that, collected petitions outside of 440,

accompanied, of course, by my guitar. And finally, I just watched my mentor

interact with his co-workers and others in City Hall, and saw firsthand how to play

the political game.

2. During my time at City Hall, I learned how to write citations, and also how to fill

out property cases. Speaking in a more mental, rather than physical, tone, I also

learned how to interact with both political bigwigs and day-to-day professionals,

and how to conduct myself professionally amongst them. I too learned how to

write reports for public officials, and then how to deliver said reports in meetings

with staffmembers. The project drew upon my ability to write analytical research

papers, however it also helped to develop my ability of writing shorter

summations regarding specific topics (like bag taxes), as well as sharpening my

citation writing skills (which has its own specific writing style that is required when

writing it). It also helped to increase my social ability within the scope of an office

(saying hi to everyone you see in order to possibly bolster connections).

3. The individuals that most impacted my time there were everyone in the office,

though especially my mentor. He taught me everything that I learned while

working in the office, and worked hard to ensure that I was comprehending all of
 the information that he was passing on to me. Two other important figures in my

experience downtown were staffers in Councilwoman Gyms office, Steve and

Ian. I met with Steve during my first days in City Hall, and he provided me with

both useful and depressing information concerning music programs (and the lack

of them) in city schools. It is also through Steve that I learned of a plan to gather

student-musicians in front of the School District building during an SRC meeting

and have them play and collect petitions in order to raise awareness about those

aforementioned music programs. I participated in that demonstration, and owe it

solely to Steve. Later during my project, I met with Ian for over an hour to discuss

school funding, specifically in Pennsylvania. He explained to me the basics, and

also more complex issues, of that topic, and then passed several great resources

into my hands, like a 60 page report from Yale Law about school funding, that

were integral in the writing of my final report.

4. Every day I had an important conversation with Andre, my mentor. Some days he

would speak to me regarding the importance of always dressing to impress, or of

never leaving ones blinders up (be social to everyone you see in order to better

form connections). Mostly he would talk with me about various issues in the

seventh district, and what problems the people calling the Councilwomans office

were dealing with. My discussion with Ian Gavigan, of Councilwoman Gyms

office, was enlightening for several reasons. He explained to me how

Pennsylvania funded its schools, and how the Fair Funding Formula is in fact a

replacement for integration, though it does not have nearly the same positive
 effects that integration has on a students in poverty. He explained to me the

significance of the 1974 Supreme Court case Milliken v. Bradley, and the

importance it has played in the desegregation movement getting slowed

considerably down. He also talked to me about the citys pension problem, and

how it affects the schools, and the citys Charter school problem, and how that

affects the schools. He even recommended certain classes for me to take at

Penn, and advised me on what else I should learn about that is related to my

major (Political Science). It was an incredibly intellectual conversation I wasnt

entirely prepared for, and one of the more important moments in I experienced

during the course of my project.

5. One of the more important acts of community service that I engaged in during my

project was collecting petitions outside of 440 before an SRC meeting. This

helped to raise awareness about the racist dispersion of music programs and

music teachers in the School District schools, and hopefully put some pressure

on the District to address this problem. I also helped to assist members of the

seventh district buy city owned parcels of land. Andre, of course, did the heavy

lifting, but I was no bystander, either. Community Service was a pretty big chunk

of my project, and impacted it strongly, overall simply because I was working in a

City Councilwomans office, and her job is to literally serve her community. If my

project didnt really end up benefitting anyone, Id say that we might need a new

Councilperson for the seventh.

6. My project had a positive impact on the community for the reasons listed above. I

believe that it raised awareness regarding music programs in city public schools,

and that my final report also raised awareness about the sad, sad, funding

system that the State uses for its public school districts. Though I cant tell the

aftereffects of it yet, hopefully schoolchildren in Philly will get music teachers or a

new music program in their school that wasnt there before because of the recent

activities that myself and others engaged in. I also think that those people that I

assisted in buying property (Andre mostly helped them, though), strongly

benefited, as they now have land that they can use for their intended purpose,

and what a wonderful thing that is.