Day 12: Success on the Hill by Peter Tangikyan

July 11th, 2019

Success on the Hill

by Peter Tangikyan

Before heading into a congressional office, millions of scenarios go through one’s head and they rarely are positive thoughts. We all go in looking for the big “yes,” but quite frankly, this is only ideal and rarely occurs. Going into Representative Tony Cardenas’ office, I surprisingly was not nervous because this office was to represent the needs of my community. It felt like a safe space where I was able to explain my ideas to passionate and concerned individuals, without the fear of being judged. Unlike the proposal of other students, my ask was ambitious since I was asking him to introduce new legislation that required a large sum of money. 

Peter outside of Representative Tony Cardenas office.

Walking into his office, I really expected nothing more than a couple of “good jobs” and I already accepted the worst outcome. I met with Representative Cardenas’ Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director, who was especially involved with energy policies. The proposal I was suggesting involved maintaining and improving our current waste management system for recyclable products, along with creating new refineries in order to reduce and reuse a plethora of products.The moment I met the staffer, I was confident that our meeting would be productive because she was ecstatic to meet with me, even though it was a busy day on the Hill. The staffer’s enthusiasm truly brought out my confidence during the meeting and I felt that progress was truly possible. After summarizing my ideas to the staffer, her reaction was shocking. She was in total support with my ideas and she said that the Congressman was in the process of creating an act to improve America’s recycling infrastructure. The staffer mentioned how this was a total coincidence and the office had not yet announced this plan to the public. I appreciated the fact that we had the same vision for fixing our country’s and community’s recycling programs. 

At this moment I felt like a true citizen of my community. I was able to recognize the issues around my neighborhood and bring attention to my representative. I am ecstatic to read about this infrastructure bill my Congressman will present, as it will positively impact our environment and my community.