Adam Gadd’s Internship with Rep. Jim Walsh



Adam Gadd
Office Placement: Rep
Jim Walsh
Email: avogadro20@hotmail.com

“Hello,
my name is Adam Gadd and I am a 21-year-old undergraduate studying
History and Politics at Glasgow University. Originally I hail from
Stranmillis in Belfast so I should probably be classed as an exile! I
have been placed with Rep Jim Walsh who is a Congressman for Central New
York. Fortunately, he has a great interest in Ireland and in the Young
Leaders Program. I am very much looking forward to sampling all aspects
of Washington life from the work placement to the sociable pint down the
bar!”

 

JOURNAL ENTRIES

Young_Leader: Adam Gadd
Date: Friday, August 04, 2000
Time: 02:22 PM

Journal_Entry

Hello folks,

Many apologies for not filling in the old pad sooner but I have been very busy lately. Highlights over the past two weeks must have been going to a picnic on the White House lawn, visiting a pig roast and also kiyaking on the potomac at dawn. Many thanks to my mentor Chris Downey for the last event – it was very enjoyable

Today is unfortunately my last day of work and it is quite depressing. One of the best experiences of being in DC is that I work in an amazing institution and for the past six weeks I have taken it for granted. Only now when I realise that I will not be coming back as a worker does the full weight of the experience hit you. Of course it has been enhanced by the fact that the office in which I worked was superb with extremely friendly staff and worthwhile jobs for me to do and I would just like to thank them all for the opportunities that they provided for me, I am of course going to pay them back in true Irish fashion by buying them a few jars. The plan is to gather up all the Irish interns and as many staff as possible for a bit of drinking in little Ireland tonight. I am sure all will go well – if any trouble gets started Bronagh can sort it out as she is an esteemed member of the dubliner drinking association.

This weekend should be good fun as we have white water rafting, an open air concert and a trip to a theme park. My only fear is that the rollercoaster will not live up to Northern Irelands best – the one at Barry’s in Portrush which was recently awarded Most Spine Chilling Ride in the World 1999.

Anyway, I will try and inform you of these upcoming events next time but for now,

Cheerio,

Adam Gadd

“Creating Opportunities Today for the Leaders of Tommorrow”

Young_Leader: Adam Gadd
Date: Sunday, July 23, 2000
Time: 08:12 PM

Journal_Entry

Hello folks,
I hope you are all well and good and that this finds you in good humour.

This has been an interesting week which was again fun filled and busy. I have had meetings after work every night to do with are plans for when we get home. We are intending to try and set up some sort of follow up initiative which should be good but will be a lot of work. Also I have had a busy week in the office and on Friday I had my first attempt at teaching. Unfortunately the complex lesson on comparative politics that I was giving didn’t muster any discussion from this group of 8-9 year olds. I think I shall pick my subject matter differently next time.

So, on to the social highlights. Wednesday night was good fun when 7 of us descended on our friends from Xandos flat. However, her pretty flatmates didn’t appreciate us. What a shame. We made up for it with some stirling drinking though led of course by that sober fellow Paddy “The Drinker” Graham. I do not believe any of us will ever see that man get drunk. How does he do it? The night ended with a furious singsong and a choice encounter with some lovely American teenagers. The one called Chug was a total gentlemen who I look forward to meeting again soon – God Bless the USA.

Another social highlight must have been Saturday night in Adams Morgan when the group’s bonding took another step forward. I would personally like to thank Bronagh for all the advice she gave me. Mr Mackell and Brenda’s passionate affair seems to be continuing without hindrance. They look so beautiful together. Today was spent at the host parents of Ann. They put on a cracker BBQ which did the job. Rejuvenated for another week.

That’s it for now, take care, god bless and keep it real.

Young_Leader: Adam Gadd
Date: Sunday, July 16, 2000
Time: 03:57 PM

Journal_Entry

The problem with being out here in Washington and having lots to do is that time inevitably goes very quickly. This is not good considering the amount of fun that is being had by one and all. We will just have to make the second half of the trip as good as the first. I personally have learnt an enormous amount so far and am looking forward to applying it back home despite my reluctance to leave DC.

The past week has not failed to please and definite highlights were the event on Wednesday night that opened our eyes to a different side of this city and also the visit to the Secret Service on thursday. They had some very cool stuff although I was sceptical about some of the techniques they use.

However, I would have to say that the highlight for me was the leadership of the group at a barbeque last night. Tears were brought to my eyes. As the group assembled at the venue, unfortunate me was unable to purchase alchoholic beverages – extremely disappointing due to the draconian laws that exist in this so called land of the free. What then occurred has reaffirmed my faith in human nature. The generous spirit of the other Young leaders was directed by Sean Doherty into providing myself and the other unfortunates with liquor. What a leader. This has driven me to a quest of generosity for next week that will probably culminate with an organ donation.

Aside from things Alchoholic, we finally seem to be moving forward in with the Conference preparations. Check out the necessary page to get an update.

That’s it for now but as always I will keep you posted.

Take care and God Bless,

Adam Gadd

Young_Leader: Adam Gadd
Date: Sunday, July 09, 2000
Time: 07:18 PM

Journal_Entry

Greetings people,
It’s been about a week since I last entered into my journal pad and there have been many interesting events since then. Unfortunately I haven’t met any more famous people yet but I believe there are some of our beloved Northern Irish politicians on their way over the great Atlantic to say hello. Here’s hoping anyway!
Last weekend was spent relaxing in the dense Virginia countryside playing a bit of my new hobby, golf and doing a bit of swimming. I think I am going to need a lot of practice if I am going to take the Open Championship next year like I planned. We returned to DC for the Fourth of July fireworks down by the Lincoln Memorial which were quite superb but there was an unfortunate lack of alchohol in the area – perhaps next year we should suggest they fill the reflecting pool with lots of Liquor to see what the reaction would be! Back to work on Wednesday didn’t turn out to be too bad as we were all in civvies due to a Congressional recess. However not all of us in Congress were that lucky, some of us even had to give tours of the Capitol on thursday. Apparently Brenda’s tour was so good she has been awarded Best Intern 2000 despite the fact that I found her searching for her tour party in the underground network of Capitol Hill. Nice work darling. Ciara has also taken to life on the hill well. Miss Leonard was so impressed with a lecture given to interns on the House floor that she slept right through it. The lecturer even had to stop and ask for her to be woken up as she was snoring so loudly. Very embarassing. Thursday night was spent in the obligatory session at Nanny O’Briens and contrary to recent allegations, I had no intention of pulling any ladies despite talking for a lengthy period. I plead an interesting conversation! Friday night was spent at an excellent play which preceeded a hairy road crossing. Orla I believe still hasn’t come to grips with the fact that a large lump of metal coming at you quickly is likely to hurt if it hits. Perhaps we should all give her some lessons this week, just for our own peace of mind. Saturday night was a bit of a disaster which saw me being thrown out of a nightclub for being too cool and the handsome John Mackell enhance an already legendary pulling ability. He tells me he got extremely lucky with a lady!!! As it happened, myself and Ruiari ended up being entertained by the Cuban Mafia before having an argument that lasted too long and meant we couldn’t focus on the superb quality of the fairer sex that were present – what a waste.
Today was a day of fun and frolics down by the pool thanks to Debbie Woodcock but unfortunately Brenda was pushed in by two nasty bullies. I believe they are both extremely sorry for any upset caused.
This brings me to the start of another fun filled week yet to be had. I will of course relay any events that I believe are of interest to the reader, as and when they happen.

God bless and take care.

Adam Gadd

Young_Leader: Adam Gadd
Date: Saturday, July 01, 2000
Time: 05:28 PM

Journal_Entry

Hello again,
I hope you are all very excited to hear about our new friend Georgie Mitchell.
On Wednesday night Myself, Ciara and Nigel were at a dinner hosted by some sort of Republican party grouping. I was with my Congressman and the other two were with Peter King. We went in and George gave a short lecture of about 5-10 minutes and then took some questions from the floor. Niall dutifully asked him some question about parades. Then we had a superb feed with tasty wine and an opportunity to make some contacts. I’ve got something lined up next summer already! We also got a free signed copy of his book ‘Making Peace’ which is hopefully the first momento of many. So, a good time was had and I have of course done a good bit of bragging about it.
Thursday night was spent in Nanny O’Briens doing a bit of drinking and singing. Claire certainly made sure that she extended her influence amongst the group-Nice one! Then on Friday night, an after work drink turned into a bit of a nightmare for Bronagh despite the fact that she was determined to entertain us with her superb dancing moves. I believe she had a good nights sleep anyway. Today, John and I made a start to our Golfing career courtesy of a Golf lesson from our host father Tom. I am very good at it.
Thats all for now but I will keep you informed as things happen. Cheerio , Adam Gadd

Young_Leader: Adam Gadd
Date: Friday, June 30, 2000
Time: 03:15 PM

Journal_Entry

Greetings, I am staying behind in the office to write this journal so I hope you all enjoy reading my lyrical outpourings.
This has been a very busy week of work. I have got lots to do and it mainly involves replying to constituents letters. There are some strange people out there! It has been good fun though, and the first dividend came on Wednesday night when myself and a few others got to meet George Mitchell. However you will have to wait until my next installment for the details of that as I must go and meet some people.

Cheerio,

Adam Gadd

Young_Leader: Adam Gadd
Date: Sunday, June 25, 2000
Time: 07:07 PM

Journal_Entry

Hello folks,
First week in DC has been superb with lots of socialising combining other young leaders and the locals. Looking forward to starting work tommorrow and of course doing a bit more socialising in the weeks ahead. By the way check out Colette Murphy’s gorgeous photo on her journal pad, Looking good!

Cheerio,
Adam Gadd

Young_Leader: Adam Gadd
Date: Friday, June 23, 2000
Time: 05:03 PM

Journal_Entry

Adam, welcome to Young Leaders 2000 from the Webmaster. We all look forward to following your summer adventure here in Washington, DC through your Journal. If you have any questions or problems with your Journal, please email webmaster@storywise.com. Good luck!


 


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