Student Represents UWG at State Capitol

Douglas Salter

Senior political science major Erik Brzoska is putting UWG on the map with a position at the Georgia State Capitol. Hejust completed an internship in the Georgia Legislative Internship Program working for the Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives.

After graduating this fall, Erik plans on going to law school and entering the law field. Erik discovered instead of taking classes on campus, he could earn 12 credits hours for his major by working as an intern at the Georgia State Capitol. He went through an interview process before he was admitted and there was plenty of competition. However, because of his impressive credentials and skill set, he got the internship. Erik is making UWG look very good through all of his hard work and continued determination.

“I usually come into the office between seven or eight a.m. to get started on my day with collecting some documents fromthe Clerk’s Office,” said Erik. “I watch the Floor Session of the House of Representative to see which bills will be assigned to the Judiciary Committee. I looked at any assigned bills to become familiar with them. 

“Around noon I get lunch, and afterwards I do any tasks that are given to me by my boss,” continued Erik. “I usually leave the office between five or six.My favorite part of the internship are the committee meetingsand watching the members discuss the topics at hand.”

Erik began attendingUWG in the fall of 2019. He has been a political science major during his entire tenure as a student. While taking his core classes, Erik decided that he wanted to go through the pre-law track with his degree.

He also decided to double minor in English literature and criminology to give him some extra skillsto help improve his future career aspirations. Erik was also heavily involved in the Student Government Association (SGA) at UWG.

“While taking core classes, I became more and more involved with SGA,” said Erik “I became a Senator, then I became the Secretary of Academic Affairs and then finally I served as Vice President. I believe being a part of SGA did help prepare me by allowing me to become familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order [Rules used by representativebodies to bring order to meetings]which are used often.”

Beforehis internship at the capitol, Erik was involved in other student political programs. Erik took partin The Fellowship of Thomas B. Murphy Center for Public Service and Henry ClayCollege Student Congress. These programs allowed him to meet other college students who are interested in entering the political field. It also allowed him to become more familiar with the environment that he is now working in. 

“These programs also allowed me to learn more about the policy making process, and it allowed me to meet people who work in the public affairs and policy making field,” said Erik.

Erik can certainly be seen as a hardworking individual. Though, Erik does share a workspace and while it can be quiet at times, it can also gethectic and busy. However, this does not stop Erik from getting his work done. He has the skills to make sure his work is done diligently and on time. Through his shared workspace he is open to collaboration and has learned to be very flexible.Erik began his internship at the beginning of the school year in Jan. and completed it on March 31.

“I believe that the three top traits that help me with my internship are being a hard worker, being open to learnand being punctual,” said Erik. “These traits have allowed me to besuccessful now and will certainly help me prepare for the future.”