In her application for the press secretary opening in Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite’s (R-Fla.) office, her task was to simply write a column on health care. Compared to the typical application essays for jobs in Brown-Waite’s office, that question seems rather dull. Lower-level applicants have been asked questions on everything from bocce ball to iPod music selections for Queen Elizabeth II.
In May, Smedile was hired as Brown-Waite’s press secretary from her job as minority deputy communications director for the House Ways and Means Committee, a position she held for the past two years. Prior to those jobs, Smedile worked a brief stint in 2007 as staff assistant to Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).
Smedile’s duties now principally include managing media inquiries and information dissemination for Brown-Waite.
“This is the first time I have ever worked for a personal office, and it’s a whole different kind of energy,” she said. Having moved out of the policy world, Smedile notes that her new job allows for a lot more creativity. “We are always thinking of new ways to reach out to our constituents, so the job is more free-flowing compared to my previous work,” she said.
A 24-year-old Missourian and 2007 graduate of Marquette University, Smedile looks forward to the opportunities her new job presents — including an opportunity to play on Brown-Waite’s bocce team. The Congresswoman’s staffers are known in Washington, D.C., bocce circles as strong enthusiasts of the sport.
Joining the staff just as the spring season was finishing, Smedile hopes to play in the future. “Bocce ball was something that really gauged my interest in working for the Congresswoman,” she said.
In the near future, however, she says the Brown-Waite staffers might branch out athletically. “We play bocce ball instead of softball, but we might switch that up soon,” she said. For Smedile, playing softball might give her a competitive advantage, as she is ambidextrous.
Other changes to the Brown-Waite office in May included the promotion of 23-year-old Katie Troller from legislative correspondent to legislative assistant. A 2008 graduate of Miami University in Ohio, Troller says that she knew she wanted to work for Brown-Waite when she saw the job application.
“I found out about the legislative correspondent job through a listserv posting. The job description asked for a 300-word essay describing how bocce ball changed your life. I instantaneously knew I wanted to work for an office that had such a great personality and appreciated bocce ball,” she said.
Troller spent part of her childhood playing bocce with her grandparents in Wisconsin every summer. She used the application to describe how the sport allowed her to learn and share with her grandparents.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra and Rep. Joseph Crowley, vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, address a news conference immediately after the closed caucus meeting.
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