ND Spotlight: Malyna Trujillo’s Life Changing Experience on Capitol Hill
“This is where I need to be… my dream job [is] now to work on Capitol Hill”, said Malyna Trujillo ‘23, a junior at Notre Dame High School, and notably, recent shadow for Sen. Alex Padilla and Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the director of the the White House of intergovernmental affairs.
When Trujillo ‘23 reached out to Sen. Padilla and Rodriguez to ask if it would be possible to shadow them for a day, she was overwhelmed by their kind response and her subsequent trip to Washington D.C in Sept. 2021. A once-in-a-lifetime experience, Trujillo ‘23 couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity and how it impacted her life.
The first day after she arrived in D.C, Trujillo ‘23 dived straight into the experience, shadowing Sen. Padilla on Capitol Hill. “Everyone’s always working, it’s so fast-paced… They were talking about things we saw on the news in the morning, and then it would go there, and they're working on it”, said Trujillo ‘23 as she emphasized how thrilling the experience was and how the action happens in real-time.
“One of the first things I got to do, and I will never forget this: I walked into a committee hearing room and I got to see Senator Ossoff! Mitt Romney was also in the room. He walked past me, I was like, “Who is that tall man?!”, Trujillo ‘23 explained, laughing.
“It’s so surreal to see them outside of the TV… I can’t believe it’s happened.”
And understandably so, as some of the other people Trujillo got to see include Sen. Rand Paul, Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and even the Prime Minister of India.
But despite seeing all these incredible political figures, perhaps the one that made the most profound impact for Trujillo ‘23 personally was Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the highest ranking Latina on President Biden’s campaign–– who she also shadowed. Trujillo explains that seeing Rodriguez in action was what truly inspired something within her: “She’s as tall as me, like under five feet, but she owned the place like in the West Wing. It was so crazy that she’s just running everything.”
“I could see myself there… Yeah, this is my dream job”, added Trujillo ‘23.
When asked what advice she has for fellow ND students who may be interested in civic engagement and politics, Trujillo ‘23 advised, “Break out of your shell and just reach out… Get those opportunities for yourself, then they can really be worth it. Yeah, you can really make something out of this.”
Without a doubt, Trujillo ‘23’s experience shadowing Sen. Padilla and Rodriguez was life-changing. On behalf of the ND community, I can say that we are all proud of Trujillo’s engagement and courage with such a daunting but ultimately rewarding opportunity.
