As the subway doors beneath the Hart Senate Office Building closed in front of me, my heart skipped a beat.  I had just missed the train to the Capitol Building.  There was only one thing to do—run like the wind.

At the time, I was a 17-year-old intern for U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield, Oregon’s senior senator.  On this final day of my internship, the senator had suddenly sent word that he could meet with me right away at his alternate office in the Capitol.  I had been waiting for this moment for many weeks.