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Social work student interns for Washington senator
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LLISON BANKS, senior social work major, spent winter quarter in Olympia, Washington, interning for Sen. Rebecca Saldaña. Banks was one of about 70 students admitted to the State of Washington Legislative Internship Program this year. The annual program allows college students to assist legislators and learn about lawmaking during the legislative session. In a sea of political science majors, Banks was the only intern majoring in social work. “When you look around and you’re the minority major, it’s difficult not to think ‘This program was designed for a different group of students,’” says Banks. Despite some initial doubts, Banks quickly learned she was right where she belonged. The first bill she saw called for increased healthcare benefits for Washington residents from the Marshall Islands, the Federation
Allison Banks states her position as part of a mock debate on the state Senate floor.
of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. Banks served as a student missionary in Palau three years ago, and two of her former students now live in Washington state, making this a very personal topic. “I had this moment where I just froze,” Banks says. “How is it possible that I got matched with the one senator who prime sponsored a healthcare bill to protect Palauans?” On most days Banks answered emails and phone calls, but the work varied widely. Banks recalls that if a bill dropped and constituents had questions, the staff went into overdrive to do research and give informed responses. “You would come into work and you have no idea what you would be an expert on by the end of the day,” she says. Banks attended seminars, sometimes paged on the Senate floor, and participated in mock committee and floor-debate
‘Is This Thing On?’
More than 8,000 online viewers watched the Facebook Live event.
Church leaders meet with students for open conversation Leaders from the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists met with Walla Walla University students on campus in May for a conversation to address student questions. During the 120-minute Facebook Live “Is This Thing On?”
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Westwind Summer 2018
event, Dan Jackson, NAD president; Alex Bryant, NAD executive secretary; and Tom Evans, NAD treasurer,
answered questions from a live audience. “Our church only becomes stronger when we talk to each
other, pray with each other, and learn from one another,” says Jackson. “Transparent and open dialogue
exercises. During a mock caucus exercise, Read two more Banks used her social stories about social work knowledge to work student analyze bills in a way internships at that other students wallawalla.edu/ couldn’t. One of socialwork-news. the most dense bills debated dealt with issues regarding juvenile justice. “Even having minimal experience discussing topics like recidivism and reentry made me one of the most informed people in the room,” Banks says. Looking at a career, Banks likes the prospect of bringing social work and law together in a policy counsel position, helping legislators make informed policy decisions related to the human services field. When it comes down to it, she just wants to be a part of the lawmaking process. “There’s so much to work on,” she says.
on issues important to young people is something we are able to engage in with this conversation. And it’s something we, as a church, should foster beyond this event.” Topics discussed included women in leadership, how younger generations can connect with older generations in church leadership, and how the NAD plans to reach out to the LGBTQ+ community. “As students we desire to be heard by older generations. It keeps being said about our generation that we are concerned
about issues of social justice, and many of the students on this campus feel that the church has been unjust. An opportunity to talk to them on terms that we can agree with—a live/uncut setting—is meaningful to us,” says Peter Flores, senior theology major and 2017-18 president of the Adventist Intercollegiate Association.
Watch the meeting between church leaders and WWU students at
wallawalla. edu/ITTO.
READ WESTWIND ONLINE: WESTWIND.WALLAWALLA.EDU
PHOTOS: LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES, CHRIS DRAKE
State Senate