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inside.hokiesports.com
15
2016
CAROLINE
BUSCAGLIA
SWIMMING & DIVING
Midlothian, Virginia
by
Jimmy Robertson
Caroline Buscaglia
is a swimmer on the Tech women’s swimming
and diving team and graduates next May with dual degrees in political science and
psychology. She eventually wants to go to law school and then pursue a career in
politics, perhaps as a chief of staff or a judge.
Q: Why did you decide to major in political science?
CB:
“I grew up with my family always talking about what was going on in the world
and watching the news and sort of being able to see what was going on in politics. Once
I was in high school, taking U.S. History and U.S. Government really showed me that
I liked understanding the inner workings of it. I’ve always had an affinity for wanting
to be a good citizen.”
Q: How does psychology figure into this?
CB:
“It gives you an idea of how other people are perceiving things. With the law,
there is a straight-forward aspect to it, but there is also picking up on human behaviors.
It just fit nicely.”
Q: You worked as a paid intern for Virginia Senator and Democratic Vice
Presidential Candidate Tim Kaine this summer. What did you do?
CB:
“I was working in one of his state offices in Roanoke. It [the internship]
showed how much Senate offices do for the people. They’re constantly meeting with
constituents and seeing what sort of things that they’re concerned about in their areas.
The state teams collect that information and bring it to the senator and make sure that
those interests are being noticed and heard.
“We also did a lot of events, and I was handling a lot of casework for constituents
whose paperwork got lost in the shuffle at various federal agencies. Senate offices
follow up and find out where there are any discrepancies and what’s going on with the
case. We also did a lot of research on what is going on in the area and let the senator
know. It was really interesting and gave me a different perspective.”
Q: Did that re-affirm what you want to do in the future?
CB:
“Yes and no. I had been planning to go to law school after graduating, but
now I’m planning on taking a year to work before going to law school. I’ll probably
be working in Richmond. One of the things that doing this internship taught me was
that there are a lot of staff assistant positions that are high-turnover positions. A lot of
people stay in them for a year and then go to graduate school or law school. Then they
come back and work in a higher-level position, or do something else in a higher-level
position. That gave me a new idea of what I wanted to do. So that is the plan—to get a
year of working experience and then pursue a law degree.”
Q: What would be your long-term career objective?
CB:
“I don’t actually want to run for political office. I’d rather be a chief of staff
and do the background stuff, or focus on the legal side to eventually be a judge. I like
policy and working on pulling it all together. I might even be interested in doing some
lobbying. Having a law degree gives me more specialization, and I can use it a lot of
different ways.
“I could work for a private firm and make a lot of money, but that’s not where my
passion is. My passion is more how I can use it to help people.”