Christina Mulka, AS’07
Sometimes, when I need to catch my breath, I look out my third-floor window in the U.S. Capitol Building and think about how I got here. To say it’s been a whirlwind is a bit of an understatement. I’ve been the press secretary for Dick Durbin, a U.S. senator from Illinois and the assistant Democratic majority leader, since March.
And I just graduated from Northeastern in May.
My not-so-normal college experience was hectic from the start. Deciding to row varsity crew meant my day began with a 5 a.m. wake-up call and a van ride to the Henderson Boathouse. The daily workouts on the Charles and in the gym left me with little free time outside class.
When I first entered Northeastern, I majored in communications—for a week. Then an interesting American government elective persuaded me to change my major to political science. Now, I thought, I had five leisurely years to discover what I wanted to do after graduation, and my co-op adviser and I discussed future internship possibilities in Washington, D.C.
My first co-op was at a Boston law firm, Stoneman, Chandler & Miller, where I learned office skills like copying and filing. I also found extraordinary women role models at all levels of the firm, from young lawyers to accomplished partners.
Though I was qualified to leave town for my next co-op, I was determined to finish four years of rowing, a year-round sport. So I traveled as far as I could, all the way across the Charles River to the U.S. Department of Transportation in Cambridge.
This was actually one of the more challenging periods of my college career. I’d wake up at 4:45 a.m., bike across campus, get a van (I was a certified Northeastern van driver by now), pick up my teammates, and drive to the boathouse. We’d row on the Charles for nearly two hours. The moment we got back to the dock, I’d jump out of the boat, grab my things, and hop onto my bike. No time to shower—I had to do that at my office’s gym.
On the job, I could relax into my research projects on major infrastructure projects across the country. After work, I’d squeeze in a second workout before dinner. Then I’d prepare for the next day and go to bed. Even now, I look back on those four months to remind myself what I’m capable of.
Finally, I was ready for a Washington co-op. Since I’m from Illinois and admire both our senators, I applied for internships with Barack Obama and Dick Durbin.
On the Fourth of July 2006, I moved into my new Washington apartment for a six-month stint at Senator Durbin’s office. The co-op involved giving tours and doing routine office tasks. Still, I found, working in the Capitol can make even handling documents on federal tax law seem exciting.
One highlight was the month I worked on Tammy Duckworth’s congressional campaign. Tammy is an Iraqi war veteran who lost both legs when her Black Hawk helicopter was shot down. At Senator Durbin’s urging, she decided to run for the U.S. Congress as a Democrat in a Republican stronghold, the sixth district of Illinois.
I served as a campus coordinator, recruiting Chicago college students to work for Tammy. It was everything a campaign should be: headquarters in a suburban Chicago strip mall; long hours; no sleep; networking; finding friends for life; pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
My coordinator colleague and I basically started from scratch. In just a few weeks, we had hundreds of college kids giving up their weekends to knock on doors for Tammy. I developed lasting relationships with many people from Senator Durbin’s office, as well as other Hill staffers. In the end, Tammy lost by a percentage point, which was heartbreaking. But my campaign experience was amazing.
I was back at school just two months when, incredibly, I was offered a job as Senator Durbin’s press secretary, starting immediately. The next few months were a blur. I packed up my things. In March, I started my job. I finished my Northeastern coursework from Washington and graduated with my friends in May.
Just like I’d planned when I enrolled in college, I’ve ended up in communications. As press secretary, I’m involved in nearly every issue that affects Illinois, or at least the issues the press is interested in.
I might be working on a press release about Amtrak, get a phone call about health care, and have to become a semi-expert on it in a matter of minutes. The daily press machine is an adrenaline rush—something I must be addicted to after all my years of rowing. The hours are long, the work really hard, the pace lightning-fast. But I’m enjoying everything.
Looking out my office window on the Fourth of July 2007, a year after I’d first moved to the capital, I was admiring the Washington Monument as the fireworks began. I could almost make out the figure of Abraham Lincoln—a fellow Illinoisan—in the Lincoln Memorial just over to the right. My heart was racing. Tomorrow, I knew, I’d watch the Senate at work and maybe play a role in making history.
Enhancing student outcomes through experiential learning is one of five defining themes in the Academic Initiative.