The hearing was similar to other law procedures in which Clarke was involved. "You read some of these cases and you know the company is at fault," she says. "You think, 'This is still happening, in this day, in 2001?'" The judge denied Amtrak's motion to dismiss the case, which prompted brief applause from some spectators. Legal details occupied the rest of the hearing; the judge would announce his decision about other Amtrak complaints later.

"This experience made me thirsty for more types of internships," says Clarke, who conducted 67 telephone interviews with plaintiffs. She was attracted by the civil-rights aspect of her job, as well as the legal experience. "I don't know if I want to practice law, but I definitely want to go to law school. I had lawyers and second- and third-year law students helping me with my applications." Among them was Nicole Joseph '99, who sponsored the position. "We need interns here, so we might as well get the best--and that would be Oberlin students," she says.

Far from the government milieu, Paul Chaikin '02 worked with a small, one-man audio postproduction business aptly called Kennedy Sound which bore eerie similarities to the D.C. political world. "I work with fantasy," says intern sponsor Kennedy Wright '86. "It's all fake."

Wright's tiny basement studio holds a computer system, recording and synthesizing equipment, and walls designed to absorb sound acoustically; a collapsible recording booth is stationed in his garage. Chaikin, a double-degree student majoring in Spanish and technology in music and related arts, picked up on the complexity of audio postproduction and worked on his own project, a re-edit of a PBS promo.

What was a typical day like?" he asks. "When Kennedy had a client, I watched him in action mixing sound for a commercial. When he didn't have a client, he gave me lessons on anything I wanted to learn about sound design."

sound elements, such as dialogue, music, "hard" effects (relating to action that is visible), and "soft" effects (background noises). Most of the time, these effects are from sound libraries or are recorded afterward.

"You'd be surprised what is purported to be real, but is not," says Wright, who ensures that sound--often synthesized in a sound booth--works so fluidly with the visuals that the viewer never questions its authenticity.

For three weeks, I followed the journalist's path,covering events, conducting interviews, and flashing my congressional press pass. Early on, Doyle advised me of the wisdom of beginning a journalism career outside of D.C., to first build strong reporter skills before becoming immersed in politics. Washington is its own dimension and requires outside perspective, he says. My experience there supports his case.

The House Republicans were stalling, so Doyle called his office. While he was in the phone booth, Rep. Peter King, the unmistakable New York congressman, walked past me and into the next booth. King achieved some prominence during Bill Clinton's impeachment and the presidential primaries; I found it odd that he would be using the phone booth meant for reporters. King finished his call and walked back to the meeting. I mentioned my sighting to Doyle, and he shrugged.

Still, I was a bit surprised. Being close to renowned politicians is old hat to a Washington journalist, but it's quite extraordinary for a college freshman who grew up in celebrity-free Indianapolis. But by the end of the day, I had scored sightings of numerous Republican notables. John Hostettler, a representative from my state, even served me Lithuanian wedding cake.

By the end of my internship, I had searched for a California mayor inside the White House, attended a Supreme Court oral argument, helped interview congressmen in the basement of the Capitol, interviewed N.O.W. president Patricia Ireland in the heat of an inaugural protest, and wandered all over Washington. I left with some great stories and an experience that changed my perception of our government. From afar, politics seems like a quagmire of bickering and behind-the-scenes maneuvering. Watching up close, I realized that politicians were just people who had, for one reason or another, dedicated themselves to public life.