Internship experiences have lasting effects, some good and some bad.

For 19-year-old Amelia Spradley, being an intern for U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala., was as good as it gets.

Spradley, junior agricultural economics major at Auburn University, said she thoroughly enjoyed the past five weeks interning with Roby.

“It was wonderful and such an awesome experience,” Spradley said. “It was everything I expected it to be and so much more.”

Spradley, who has a political science minor, said politics is something she is becoming increasingly interested in and her internship experience has fueled that interest.

“I actually got to go to a lot of briefings on various topics,” Spradley said. “For example, I got to go to briefings on funding for insurance claims on damages sustained as a result of the storms in Alabama and I was also able to go to a briefing on foreign trade. I went to many different briefings.”

Spradley said her time spent as a congressional intern was “interesting” and is an experience she won’t soon forget.

“As interns, we were some of the people that were up at the front desk answering phone calls,” Spradley said. “Obviously we weren’t able to ‘speak’ on Congresswoman Roby’s behalf, but one of the things we were able to say about Congresswoman Roby when her constituents would call is that she is ‘unapologetically pro-life.’”

Spradley said one of her most memorable moments during her internship was when a gentleman called, she answered and was able to defend Roby’s pro-life views.

“It was a good feeling to be able to represent her and say she was pro-life,” Spradley said. “You can’t say that for everyone you work for. It just made me feel good to be able to work with someone in a place where I could say, ‘this office is unapologetically pro-life.’”

Spradley said Roby was very personable and took the opportunity to learn everything she could during her time there.

“I was nervous,” Spradley said. “As an intern, you want to present yourself the best way that you can present yourself. We got to meet with her and she was very encouraging.”

Spradley said she is excited about the prospects of a potential career in politics.

“I’ve always wanted to do something in politics,” Spradley said. “I want to go to law school, if it’s the Lord’s Will, and I’ve always wanted to get involved with politics dealing with agriculture and the environment.”

Spradley said she is hoping to be in a position that would allow her to explain various aspects of agriculture to politicians.

“I would like to be that person that advises politicians on agricultural issues,” Spradley said. “I love agriculture and it’s very dear to my heart. I would like to share it with everybody and getting into that type of position is a way for me to share with everyone on a larger scale and have a bigger impact on agriculture.”

Spradley, from Troy, is a graduate of Pike Liberal Arts School.