College of Coastal Georgia sophomore Francis Millen witnessed the inner workings of the Georgia General Assembly as the first student from the College accepted into the Georgia Legislative Internship Program. He, along with approximately 35 college students from around the state, saw behind the curtain of how state government works during this year’s legislative session.

Millen is originally from Woodstock, Georgia, and is majoring in American Studies, with concentrations in history and political science. His time with the Georgia Assembly solidified his goal of having a future career in politics and public service.

Millen was looking for opportunities to enhance what he was learning in the classroom when he saw the internship program advertised on Gov. Brian Kemp’s Instagram. Although the program is very competitive, Millen felt he had a good chance. The application process required a five-page letter of interest and three to five recommendations. Millen was selected for an initial interview, where he was mainly asked if he could work with somebody that he didn’t agree with politically.

“It was an easy question for me. The answer was simple: I’m here to help. If someone asks me to do something, I’m going to do it,” Millen said. “It also helped that my parents don’t have the same political beliefs. I’m used to hearing both sides. Because my parents are on both sides of the political spectrum, I’m very central leaning, and it makes it easier.”

Millen was then selected for a second interview to decide where he should be placed as an intern. The program gives interns the opportunity to be a part of the legislative process and have a multitude of different tasks to perform each day that may include legislative tracking, constituent services, media assistance, attendance at committee meetings, writing bill summaries, and more. Millen was assigned to House Media Services, which turned out to be a perfect fit. Before transferring to Coastal Georgia, Millen was enrolled at Chattahoochee Technical College where he majored in film and video production.

“I always knew that I wanted to do something in politics, and I knew my way in was going to be through film,” he said. “So, when I was put into House Media Services, it was like I called it.”

Millen was tasked with a variety of duties, including controlling the cameras and video feed—which was viewed by hundreds of people each day—managing the slides during meetings, and microphones.

Francis Millen along with the interns and members of House Media Services.

“On the side of the screen is a guide of what’s going on. For someone’s first time there, it’s showing what part they’re on, first and second readings of bills, announcements, and what bill number they were voting on,” Millen said. “I was able to be right there in the action. When I was doing the speakers’ mics, I sat roughly five feet away from the Georgia Speaker of the House.”

Millen was also in charge of printing out representatives’ speeches and making copies of roll call sheets of the total votes. The program was a paid internship that involved a lot of long days while in-session. He advises other future interns to ask as many questions as possible in the beginning when things are relatively slow.

“After the first two weeks, there’s not going to be time to ask questions—no time to double check. Everybody and everything is going a thousand miles an hour,” Millen said.

If able to do this internship again, Millen would be interested in working with the House Education Committee. He found the legislators there to be more relatable and younger.

Francis Millen alongside Technology and Legislative Network Coordinator Justin Speck of House Media Services.

What Millen really found interesting was seeing a side of politicians that constituents may not often realize.

“The weirdest thing was seeing people fight for a bill, arguing back and forth, and then 10 minutes later, both are on the elevator asking each other about their kids. Yes, they understand that they are there for a reason and they have their opinions. Once they leave, they are normal people. You know that, but you only see one side, so, seeing that was very nice,” Millen said. “It’s not all fighting 24/7. Watching how much they love messing with one another was really funny. Whenever you think of politicians, it’s old men arguing. You definitely have that with some committees, but then you have others that are there to have a good time.”

Millen shared one of these funny moments. A very non-controversial bill was being presented by someone who was an alum of the University of Florida. Representatives made a joke about the person not being a University of Georgia grad, and they all jokingly voted against the bill. At the very last minute, they switched to “Yes”. Millen was also fascinated at how many representatives had other jobs outside of serving in the General Assembly.

“They’re only in session for three months out of the year and make around $28,000 a year. It’s basically like retirement for most of them. Some are teachers. Rep. (Eric) Bell brought one of his classes that he teaches to the capitol. He had them sit and watch him do his job,” Millen said.

Some representatives are lawyers; others are farmers from rural areas. Many also run unopposed in their election campaigns, but still speak up and advocate for important issues, Millen said, like Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway. Williams, who once represented Brunswick and showed great appreciation for the College and the local area, was one of the first representatives to talk to Millen, and would always stop for a chat.

Millen saw how it truly takes everyone doing their part in order for issues about the state to be presented. The importance of everyone working together was on full display, as one person not doing their role could derail a bill.

“It made me appreciate the little things. There’s an Office of Legislative Counsel team that reads a bill to make sure everything is up to code and worded correctly. A person then needs to walk that bill from their office to the representative’s office. You might think that anybody can do that, but if they don’t pick it up, then the representatives don’t read it. It delays a vote because they need to have enough time to read the bill,” Millen said. “It was very interesting to see how many times they said, ‘Well we can’t vote on this bill because we’re waiting for it to be printed and passed out.’”

Millen got to experience two important days for the General Assembly—Crossover Day and Sine Die. Crossover Day is the last day to vote on bills that need to be sent over to either the House or Senate. Sine Die refers to the last day of the legislative session and is the last day that a bill can be passed. It’s a Latin term meaning “without a day,” indicating that the session has ended and lawmakers can go home. Millen explained that if it is a representative’s first term and their bill is not passed by Sine Die, it has another chance to be passed at the next session. If it is the representative’s second term and the bill is not heard or passed by Sine Die, then it automatically fails. To commemorate Sine Die, representatives rip up the bills that failed and throw them up into the air like confetti.

Through the internship, Millen learned that self-motivation is the key for anyone wanting to make a difference.

“If you’re not going to do something, nobody else will. If you’re not willing to do the work, don’t expect other people to do it,” he said. “I noticed that there were a lot of bills that people didn’t think were important to advocate—things that I thought were already law, and still aren’t,” he said.

He saw the importance of staying driven and taking the initiative when trying to make a positive impact. Millen’s internship experience truly has given him insight into what a career in politics can look like. He encourages other students to seek out internship opportunities that will expand what they’re learning in the classroom, and shed light on things that can’t be taught in the classroom.