Wall native Sarah Dierschke serving D.C. internships
The daughter of a cotton and wheat farmer from Wall is harvesting knowledge from the nation's capital this summer. Sarah Dierschke, a 22-year-old Texas Tech University senior, is serving not one but two congressional internships, the first in a West Texas representative's office.
Finishing a degree in food science this summer, Dierschke hopes to work professionally in the food industry. The experience in Washington is helping her better understand the relationship between that industry and government.
Agricultural Community. "If you know a little bit about how this side is working, you're better able to do your job," Dierschke said.
The job lets her further her study of policy issues related to food and science by attending congressional hearings on topics ranging from genetic modification to antimicrobial resistance.
Living in an agricultural community like Wall made Dierschke naturally develop an interest in food and agriculture.
"I love the people of agriculture," she said. "I like the field, and it's just where I came from."
Traffic Everywhere. She feels far from home in Washington and said it's a big change from Wall and Lubbock. "In Wall, there's no traffic lights. There's one street," Dierschke said. "You come to D.C., and there's traffic everywhere. And there's this Metro thing you've got to figure out." The Metro is the subway system crisscrossing the area.
Dierschke said she's enjoyed working in the office of Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, where she's met other former Texans and has had the opportunity to interact with people from all over the world.
"She's done a really good job," said Kelly Stone, executive assistant to the West Texas congressman. "We've always been fortunate to get really hard-working interns."
Congressional Internships. Dierschke applied for the congressional internships through Texas Tech, which helped match her with Tech alumnus Thornberry. She will receive class credit.
At Tech, Dierschke has been actively involved in her major, working as a laboratory teaching assistant in the Animal and Food Sciences Department since 2006 and as a student assistant to the department's top administrator since 2004.
In addition to receiving numerous scholarships at Tech, Dierschke was a leader in her Delta Gamma sorority, a member of the Collegiate Future Farmers of America and a line twirler during Red Raiders' football games.
Far From Home. The internships in Washington aren't the first time her college career has taken Dierschke far from home. Last summer, she studied how to easily improve fermentation methods for New York wineries. Dierschke spent about two months in Ithaca, N.Y., as a summer research scholar at Cornell University.
In summer 2006, Dierschke went to China for two weeks to study at some of the country's agricultural centers and meet fellow food science students at Chinese universities. She enjoyed meeting other children of farmers and related to their agricultural experiences.
"We both grew up in a farming atmosphere, completely different sides of the Earth, completely different experiences, but you're still connected through that," she said.
Role Model. Dierschke's father, Monroe, said he and her mother, Mollie, couldn't be more proud of their daughter's success. "She's not letting any grass grow under her feet," Monroe Dierschke said. "I don't see her coming back to the farm. That's for sure."
Dierschke said his daughter has been a role model to her two younger sisters, Sally, 18, and Sadie, 15. Sally Dierschke recently started studying food science at Texas Tech as well. She also recently returned from summer study abroad in China.
"Maybe I'm the first one that does these things so they can see how it works and see if they want to do it," Sarah Dierschke said of her sisters.
This summer, some of her assignments on Capitol Hill include clerical duties, assisting constituents and guiding visitors' tours of the Capitol. She's also had the opportunity to attend evening events such as a dinner at which President Bush spoke.
"I didn't think being here just for a summer, I'd get a chance to see him," she said.
Cultural Venues. In Washington, Dierschke is staying with other interns from Texas Tech in housing provided by the university. Dierschke said she's been taking advantage of the wealth of museums and cultural venues in Washington, taking in ballet shows at the Kennedy Center, visiting museums and making a trip to nearby New York City.
"There is so much to do here," Dierschke said. "Every weekend, we pick something we're interested in and go."
She finished her internship at Thornberry's office Thursday and began working in the office of Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Michigan. Walberg is a member of the House Agricultural Committee.
After this summer, Dierschke will go back to Lubbock to graduate. She then plans to move to Madison, Wis., to study food science in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin.
Her parents will most likely visit Washington to help her move."It'd be pretty cool to have your own daughter give you a tour of the Capitol," Monroe said.
By Daniel Collins / Scripps Howard News Service / Tuesday, July 8, 2008
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