Celebrating Black History Month: Spotlight on Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
By Chase Moore, Summer 2021 Graduate Archer Fellow
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Fellowship (CBCF) has been an amazing opportunity to directly utilize the many skills I've curated in graduate school at The University of Texas at Austin and through the Graduate Archer Fellowship Program. Each CBCF Fellow in this program specializes in a specific area (e.g., defense/security, health, energy, and foreign policy). I am a Judiciary Fellow, which entails me working on projects specifically related to the judiciary.
For the next six months, I will be working as a legislative aid for U.S. Representative Frederica Wilson (FL-24), who is the chair of the Higher Education and Employment Subcommittee and the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee. Some of my responsibilities include meeting with stakeholders to elevate legislative items and concepts to Representative Wilson, assisting with the background processes of Congressional Hearings (e.g., designing witness questions, updating congressional records through the Congressional Research Service, drafting letters and remarks, and constituent correspondence), while also working on other projects that assist the legislative and communication team. In the future there will also be opportunities for me to assist with the bill and resolution drafting process as well as helping curate a hearing related to college athletics - name, image, and likeness.
I am grateful for this opportunity because Representative Wilson's office gives me the flexibility and autonomy to engage in work that I am interested in and operate within my own portfolio. My portfolio includes things related to Black men and young boys, education and labor, arts and humanities, children, healthcare, labor/jobs, judiciary, housing, women and family issues, and technology and infrastructure.
Although my Fellowship is through the CBCF, we have external sponsors to fund our salaries. My sponsor is Facebook, so I will also develop strong relations with that company for the next year.
My goal after successfully completing this program is gaining full-time employment related to educational policy at a congressional or executive level. This opportunity would not be possible without the tremendous support provided by the Archer Center, my family, and The University of Texas at Austin. Many have played very instrumental roles in my life to get here, now it is time that I give them a return on their investment.
