Ouachita Stories

Previously published in the 2018 Ouachitonian yearbook. 

Driving twice a week to the Arkansas State Capital for eight-hour work days was a common occurrence for Bailey Alexander during her spring semester. Alexander, a sophomore social justice studies major from Bentonville, Ark., landed an internship with U.S. Senator John Boozman.

Bailey traveled to Little Rock every Tuesday and Thursday to make it to her job, which meant practically running out of Chapel on Tuesday mornings to make it to Little Rock by noon and spending the night in Little Rock with her cousin on Wednesday nights.

Alexander spent her time working as an assistant at Boozman’s office in Little Rock, where her main responsibilities were to take phone calls and be in charge of the mail. The most unique part of her job when working for the Senator was being a part of the Veterans History Project, which is connected with the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The Veterans History Project’s main focus was to interview World War II veterans, taking their first-hand accounts and documenting them so that their stories will never be lost. These stories were then taken to the Library of Congress and filed away for safekeeping.

“This project is so important because all of the emotional and significant stories mean more than just reading from a textbook,” said Alexander.

Alexander had the opportunity to sit in on many powerful interviews, one being with a man who was responsible for helping liberate the German concentration camp Auschwitz and another with one of the last survivors of the Battle of the Bulge. She also had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. and hand deliver these stories to the Library of Congress.

Alexander applied for this internship in order to get job experience that would make her resume stand out from others.

“I am hoping to go into politics and eventually run for a city council seat and work my way up. Becoming a state representative and then hopefully a congress woman or a senator is the end goal,” said Alexander.

By Elizabeth Steely

 

• Tags:
• Ouachitonian-content
• School of Social Sciences
• Social Justice Studies