Saugus man interns for Tierney’s office in D.C.

SAUGUS – Saugus resident Eric Kashdan is spending the semester in Washington, D.C. as the newest member of U.S. Rep. John Tierney’s office.Kashdan, a 21-year-old junior at Boston University, started as an intern for Tierney last month and said spending the next few months in Washington is perfect for an international relations and political science major.”I knew I was going to be doing a BU study abroad program in Washington, D.C. this semester and I was looking to get some experience working in the federal government because I’ve done some past internships in state government before,” he said. “Not only is Congressman Tierney my actual congressman, and therefore a great place to start looking, but he also works on a lot of issues I find interesting.”Kashdan said this includes Tierney’s role on the sub-committee for foreign operations and the government oversight committee along with his education policy.Kashdan called interning for Tierney a “fantastic opportunity” and said it’s been very beneficial so far.”Public policy is so important, and knowing it and having experience with it is a great thing for me to do, and I’m enjoying every second of it,” he said.Kashdan is no stranger to government. Last summer he interned for Attorney General Martha Coakley and the Public Inquiry and Assistance Center. Two summers ago he interned for State Rep. Theodore Speliotis (D-Danvers).But working for Tierney is Kashdan’s first time in the world of national politics.”It’s fantastic,” he said. “I do whatever I need to do to provide both administrative and substantive support for everyone in this office as they go about policy-making.”Kashdan said this ranges from constituent requests to taking notes on gun control briefings.While Kashdan works in the office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, he immediately heads to the BU Washington, D.C. campus for classes until 9 p.m.Kashdan said he first became interested in politics his senior year at Saugus High School during Shadow Day, where students spend the day shadowing a local man or woman at their job. Kashdan shadowed former State Rep. Mark Falzone and spent the day at the State House.”I learned about everything he did and the atmosphere was amazing,” said Kashdan. “He convinced me to work on his re-election campaign the next summer and I did. He didn’t get re-elected, unfortunately, but from that point on I knew I wanted to be involved in this.”Kashdan said he definitely wants to remain in public service after college.”Foreign affairs is one of the most interesting things for me,” he said. “I’ve considered potentially enrolling in officer training for the military ? Other than that I’d be very interested in working for the State Department trying to become a congressional staffer. I couldn’t tell in the future about public office, but I wouldn’t say no.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].