Local student Henry Lowe joined me on work experience at the end of June, the following is his evaluation of the week
What I did:
- For my week of work experience I worked alongside the team of Huw Merriman MP to gain a sense of what it would be like to work in a political environment. I worked for 3 days in the constituency office located in Bexhill and for 2 days in the parliamentary offices in Portcullis House opposite The Houses of Parliament. My job was the draft email responses to queries constituents had over concerns or issues they were facing, to write briefs for the MP about young people and their involvement in politics, to sit in on meetings and observe and learn about the important things being discussed in Parliament.
What I expected it to be like; how it was and what I enjoyed:
- I expected the experience to be insightful and completely different to anything I had done before and luckily enough it was! It felt very good to have the responsibilities I had in terms of drafting answers to emails and doing research into topics that needed extra information to provide and in-depth answer to anybody that wanted it. I also really enjoyed commuting up to London on Tuesday and Wednesday due to hustle and bustle of early morning London being something I find fascinating. I enjoyed the experience very much so as it was completely different to anything I had done before, and I look forward to trying it again sometime in the future.
What surprised me:
- Something that particularly interested me was the history of the Houses of Parliament that I learned about when I went on a tour. The rich and diverse history of our Parliamentary system fascinates me, and I think would be something that more young people should look into if they are interested.
Going forward:
- Going forward I would really like to come back to this sort of environment and do another week of work experience as I think I really thrive in the sort of situations I’ve encountered. I could definitely see myself working this kind of job full time in my later life.
