Lesson Learned

Before she personally witnessed Timothy F. Geithner, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, testify before Congress in Washington, D.C., political science major Alexandra Swan harbored negative opinions about him. He is a Democrat, after all.

“I never cared three straws about Tim Geithner,” Swan said. “But then, I heard him speak and as he was testifying, I thought, wait a minute, this is a very smart man.”

Swan recently returned from Capitol Hill, where she spent the fall semester as Cal State Fullerton’s student representative in the Leon and Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy Congressional Internship program. Each year, each California State University campus chooses one student to participate in the program. Each student is placed in a congressional office. Swan worked in the office of Rep. Ed Royce (a 1977 Cal State Fullerton business administration - accounting alumnus).

For Swan, the internship convinced her that compromise is essential in order for America to prosper and succeed.

“I’m still very partisan, but my belief that Democrats are always wrong about everything has changed,” the 23-year-old Fullerton resident said. “I used to think it was a bad thing if any Republican was willing to compromise. That’s the popular belief right now. But, nothing gets done without compromise.”

While working in Royce’s office, Swan said she answered many calls from constituents begging Royce to stick to partisan politics and refuse to negotiate.

In fact, a recent national survey by the Pew Research Center conducted for the National Journal and the Society for Human Resource Management found that while 42 percent of Americans embrace compromise, 49 percent (62 percent of them Republicans, 53 percent Independents and 39 percent Democrats) favor “political leaders who stick to their position without compromise.”

Today’s contentious political atmosphere is “not a good thing,” Swan said. “We need to work together and be sensible and logical when hammering out bills. We can’t be yelling at each other, unwilling to work with the other side. The biggest lesson I learned during my internship is that compromise is really important.”

When she started her internship, Swan said she was asked why she was Republican.

“I said, ‘because I care about national security, being fiscally responsible and good values,’ but I realized Republicans don’t have a patent on these things, and it’s just not fair to think that,” she said.

Royce and his staff, the Panettas and all the former and current elected members of Congress who she met and heard speak during her internship opened her mind to the positive outcomes that could result when Republicans and Democrats work together toward consensus, Swan said.

“We could do a lot of good,” she said, adding that she also learned that she has much more to learn about the nation’s policies and issues.

Swan called her internship “the best thing I’ve ever done in my life … the whole Panetta experience was not just a lesson on public service or politics, but a lesson in philanthropy. I understand now that when I get older and successful, I have a responsibility to give back.”

The internship’s goal is to do just that — promote public service through first-hand experience, according to the Institute’s director, Sylvia Panetta. Her husband, CIA Director Leon Panetta, founded the institute with her.

Swan plans to earn her bachelor’s degree in May and return to Washington, D.C., to pursue a career, working in a federal agency or for a member of Congress.

“Those professions don’t make the most money, but I want my career to be centered around service,” she said.

Caption: Alexandra Swan, eighth from left, and her fellow interns during a tour of CIA headquarters led by Leon Panetta, director of the CIA, pictured at the center with his wife, Sylvia.Download Photo

Jan. 24, 2011