After Henry Duny graduated from the High School in Bether, he spent part of the rest of his summer in Washington, D.C., Nag's Head North Carolina, and parts of Virginia working as a high school intern with Senator Ted Stevens.

As a high school intern, Henry opened hundreds of letters sent to Senator Stevens each week. He also got to know the three Senate buildings (Russell, Dirksen, and Hart) by running errands for Senator Steven's staff assistants. Since Henry likes typing, they had him type several things up. The second day working, Henry spent the day with Senator Stevens to see what he does.

He also went on tours around Washington, D.C., he said. His favorite tours were of the Government Printing Office, the Pentagon, and The White House(. . . .no, he didn't see the President, Bill Clinton).

The second week he was working, he had a mini vacation with 11 other interns, his two intern coordinators, and two staff assistants at Nag's Head, North Carolina. On this trip, he swam in the ocean, went to movies, went rollerblading, and strolled on the beach at night. One thing Henry will never forget is the souvenir that went into his heel about an inch. For the rest of that day, Henry recalls, everyone was saying,"I have a cactus in me!" This is because he said that three or four times before someone pulled the spine out.

Kings Dominion, an amusement park, was one of Henry's best places to go. He went on several rollercoasters there, then swam for awhile and went on the lighter and slower rides.

During the trip, Henry said, "I have widened my perception of how the U.S. Government works in Washington, D.C. It has been so much fun, yet it was a learning experience. After this trip, I would encourage graduating seniors in the Lower Yukon School District to apply as a high school Intern either for Senator Ted Stevens or Senator Frank Murkowski. It would give people here on the Delta a better view of how the government works and of how much fun you can have in one month!"

By: Henry Duny
Interview by: Kathy Duny