“So, tell me again how you ended up here?” It’s a fair question, and one that I was often called upon to answer during my semester as a fellow in the office of Congressman Steve Scalise. Whether it was guests stopping by the office on official business, constituents on a tour of the Capitol Building, or even staffers and other interns in the office, people seemed perplexed to learn that I worked for Rep. Scalise.

I, for one, never understood why people found it so shocking that a kid from New Jersey and studying in Baltimore would end up working in the Washington, D.C., office of a congressman from Louisiana. Seems like a natural fit to me!