CONGRESSMAN BART STUPAK
(MICHIGAN DEMOCRAT, District #1)
Augustin Tudor Paul Dragan

A student from Nicolae Titulescu University in Bucharest, Romania, Augustin Tudor Paul Dragan was working on a Masters degree in international and community law, and he had also attended the Diplomatic Academy for post-graduate studies in international relations as well as the Romanian-American University, both in Bucharest, where he concentrated on European economic integration. Previously, Paul studied in the United States at Inland Lakes High School in Indian River, Michigan. The son of a Romanian diplomat, Paul and his girlfriend Liana Matei had been working at the European Union where they were helping to integrate veterinarian standards and related agricultural legislation throughout the continent. The couple applied to the Washington Internship Program in early October of 2005, and in December Paul was accepted by Congressman Bart Stupak, a Democrat who represented Michigan’s District #1 where Paul lived and went to school as an adolescent. Paul began this unpaid internship within the Rayburn House Office Building in March of 2006, and he and Liana lived at International House where Paul later became a resident assistant (RA). By the end of the summer, Paul was honored with an award and a plaque recognizing his extraordinary contribution to the United States Congress. In addition, an article about Paul’s achievements abroad was published in the winter of 2006 within the Romanian periodical Global Journal, which also requested that Paul write some subsequent pieces about his experiences in America. The European Institute was interested in Paul being an intern there, but he and Liana subsequently received paid internships at the Washington Internship Program where Paul became director of housing. Below is a picture of Paul at the U.S. Capitol where one of his many duties was leading guided tours for visitors.


Paul Dragan (from Romania, who also studied in Michigan) at U.S. Capitol where he was an intern with the United States House of Representatives

Among other duties, Congressman Stupak sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Subcommittee for Telecommunications, the Committee on Environment, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Paul’s experience was relevant to these areas in addition to his regular intern assignments. Paul described his work in this congressional office as follows: “This week I helped my supervisor by adding around three-hundred names to a letter on suicide prevention, I updated the appropriation Excel sheet with new requests we made for fiscal year 2007, assisted with a Capitol tour, sorted mail that came from constituents, and helped with birthday and congratulations letters. By the end of the week, I clarified the state of a request made by the Honorable Thomas Tancredo to the NTSB regarding an MU2 plane in order to establish what needs to be done next on this issue. During my second week of the internship, I wrote three letters in the name of the Congressman, conducted my first tour of the Capitol, and began exploring Michigan programs that have been classified as ‘government waste spending.’” The following week, Paul worked on assigning names to the letter on HR 752. In May, he began working on energy-related bills, a calendar of events for the Forth of July and Memorial Day, and international child adoption from Romania. “I also corrected the appropriations spreadsheet for FY 2006 and FY 2007, drafted more letters, and helped with Olympic Scholarship Appropriations. In addition to data entry, I conducted research on federally recognized tribes of native Americans.” Paul enjoyed learning about the balance of power in America between state and federal government, an issue he faced at home where each country is negotiating how it will retain sovereignty while participating in the European Union.

WASHINGTON INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

In early summer the Washington Internship Program purchased a second residence, called Logan House, located on 11th Street, N.W. in the historic U-Street corridor so that students working on Capitol Hill or other parts of Washington would have a downtown housing choice (in addition to International House uptown as well as Summit Hills in Silver Spring, Maryland). Paul and Liana were instrumental in furnishing both Logan House and a few new apartments at Summit Hills. In addition, Paul and Liana made an enormous contribution to WIP’s retreat in July at Wintergreen Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains along with receptions following classes. After long days at work, Paul assisted WIP staff in welcoming incoming interns and families along with the logistics of providing a range of comfortable home environments for all WIP interns. When Congress went out of session, Paul started to assist Bayer Productions – whose website he created – in filming a documentary television program about WIP. As the fall recruiting season began, Paul planned visits to different campuses where he himself was among the speakers. He and Liana applied for extensions to their visas, and Paul became WIP’s director of housing.

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