Dear Editor,

For those not in the know, job shadowing is a setup where an interested party can observe someone doing their job so that the experience would help guide a career path. Because I am active in politics, I chose to shadow someone who is starting his political career, representative Curt Nisly.

I had only the faintest of ideas what legislators did when I shadowed Nisly. I was taught how a bill becomes law at school  and attended many sessions and committee hearings.

Spending the whole day was a bit different than I thought it would be. Yes, it had its normal run of voting and meeting people to talk about laws. There were meetings with lobbyists and encounters with the media.

In the essence of it all, our legislators do look out for us, we, the  people. But they can’t do their jobs properly unless we the people are engaged with them. They take so many calls and so many bills that it is easy to get lost in the shuffle.

This experience inspired me to maybe consider running as a legislator someday. I thank representative Nisly for allowing me this opportunity. If you are a young person not knowing what you are doing in life, I recommend job shadowing a legislator! It does have its boring moments, but it is worth experiencing what politicians actually do, knowing that elections are near.

Megan Stoner
Elwood