Mariel Garcia accepted a welcoming handshake from the chief of staff for state Sen. Tim Grayson. A large photograph of rolling hills at sunset near Walnut Creek, a city in Grayson’s district, dominated a wall in the compact reception room.
“Good to meet you,” said the chief of staff, Aaron Moreno. “We’ll make sure to get whatever you need.”
Behind Moreno was a doorway to Grayson’s Sacramento office on the seventh floor of a government complex across O Street from the state Capitol. This was where Garcia, a just-graduated student from UC Merced, would spend the next six weeks as a legislative intern.
Garcia was as ready as an intern could likely be, thanks to an extraordinary program at the university. In the academic year leading up to the internship, students first take a fall semester course that simulates how the state Senate works. Those chosen to be interns spend the spring semester working as undergraduate political science research assistants. Just before the internships begin, the students attend a one-week “bootcamp” in Sacramento.
Seven students are in this year’s Legislative Fellows cohort, the third for UC Merced’s Center for Analytic Political Engagement, or CAPE, which runs the program.
“The goal is for them to treat public policymaking as a craft. A lot of college students have strong ideologies,” said political science Professor Nathan Monroe, the CAPE director. “We help them step out of their shoes so they can be effective for the people they’re working for.”
Founded in 2021 by UC Merced political science faculty, CAPE’s mission is to connect students, faculty and community leaders for the enhancement of democratic participation in the San Joaquin Valley.
“CAPE does a lot of things at UC Merced, but the Legislative Fellows program is the crown jewel,” said Monroe, the university’s Tony Coelho Chair of Public Policy.
In state capitals from coast to coast, interns are a summer staple — governing bodies and agencies take on college students who experience the rhythms of democracy while providing help in areas such as researching policy, responding to constituents and helping to shepherd bills.
ICAPE takes preparing students for such responsibilities to another level. The signature step is the first one — the fall semester immersive simulation of the California Senate. Taking on roles as senators, lobbyists or journalists, they live and learn the rules — formal and unwritten — of the Capitol’s upper house.
The course includes a one-day field trip to Sacramento and a featured guest speaker. Past speakers include Gov. Gavin Newsom, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Jim Costa.
Then, CAPE selects each year’s Legislative Fellows and assigns them to political science faculty research projects during the spring. Five of this year’s fellows — Garcia, Aarynn DeLeon, Gracie Jaime, Jade Tirado and Gabriela Vargas-Buell — completed bachelor’s degrees at semester’s end. Noah Evjenth and Nijwam Anyangwe will start their third and fourth years, respectively, this fall.
At the end of May, everyone packed up for Sacramento and a week of bootcamp. On Tuesday morning, the students trooped from their hotel to the Capitol (besieged by scaffolding and fences due to a huge renovation) for a tour led by former Assembly Member Ken Cooley.
After lunch, they gathered in a visitor gallery where, on the Assembly floor below, members applauded them after an introduction by Assembly Member Esmeralda Soria (the gallery group included three interns from The Maddy Institute who took part in the bootcamp).
The balance of Tuesday and the rest of the week were filled with seminars, workshops and agency visits. They heard from a campaign strategist, the president of the California Chamber of Commerce, the communications director for the Senate Republican Caucus office, and staff at the Assembly Democratic Office of Communications and Outreach.
The seminars covered basic tasks such as writing a bill’s fact sheet, creating a policy position letter and developing a vote recommendation for a legislator. Two seminars were run by UC Merced alumni — Baltazar Cornejo (’14), a policy advisor for a national law firm, and Ayeree Pipersburg (’23), a legislative aide for state Sen. Henry Stern.
Pipersburg has taken the journey this summer’s interns have begun and believes CAPE’s program can be transformative for the students, Sacramento and the Valley.
Pipersburg took the Senate simulation course at UC Merced and said it was a game changer.
“Some people questioned what I could do with a political science degree,” she said. “Well, I’m doing exactly what the degree meant for me to do. That’s nothing short of amazing
“Learning how to draft a bill from the ground up, understanding the politics and the people, having all that understanding before you come up here — that’s going to change people’s lives. That’s going to change the way this building runs.”
The Legislative Fellows also honed their networking skills with dinner events. On Tuesday night, more than 20 Capitol officials and staff gathered with the students at Brasserie du Monde for finger food and conversation. A circle of students spent several minutes chatting with UC Merced alumnus Matt Wainwright (’13), legislative manager of the state Department of Consumer Affairs.
“You’re all part of a training session tonight,” Monroe told the dinner attendees. “We talk to them about how to recognize these opportunities in professional, social situations, and to make the most of them.”
U.S. Rep. Adam Gray, a former CAPE associate director, was on hand throughout bootcamp week, attending events, offering insight and answering questions. Early in the week, he guided three students to the offices where they would work as interns. Gray, a former state senator, stopped along the hallways several times to greet old colleagues and introduce the students.
The internship takes place during one of the most dynamic periods of the legislative calendar. Lawmakers will pass the state budget, move bills from committees to floor votes and get things squared away before summer recess, which starts just as the internships end.
Anyagwe, Garcia and Tirado said their plans after the internship include a possible pursuit of a law degree. Anyangwe, from San Jose, hoped an up-close experience in policymaking would help her as a lawyer who defends the law. Tirado, from Santa Ana, wants to be an attorney who protects the underserved.
Garcia spent the last two years at UC Merced as student coordinator for Services for Undocumented Students, a part of the Calvin E. Bright Success Center. After graduation, she wants to enter law school and land more internships, perhaps at a law firm or immigration office.
“I want to build up experience first and be sure that a law career is something I’m truly committed to,” Garcia said.
For Pipersburg, the UC Merced alumna, the journey these interns have started is much like the one that led to a Capitol career. She believes the CAPE program can be transformative for the students, Sacramento and the Valley.
“Learning how to draft a bill from the ground up, understanding the politics and the people, having all that understanding before you come up here — that’s going to change people’s lives,” Pipersburg said. “That’s going to change the way this building runs.”
CAPE fellows, from left, Gracie Jaime, Gabriela Vargas-Buell and Jade Tirado visit the governor's office. (Photo by Meadow Moore)
