BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The White House Office of Correspondence serves the lofty purpose of keeping one of the most powerful people on the planet in touch with everyday Americans. It is a purpose with which Illinois Wesleyan University senior Jessica Kong became intimately acquainted.
Kong, a native of Lake Forest, Ill., spent last summer as an intern at the Office of Correspondence. “The Office is really a bridge between the President and the American people,” said Kong, who was one of nearly 100 interns serving at the White House.
According to the Office’s Web site, the White House receives more than 165,000 letters, e-mails and faxes each week. Members of the staff and interns for the Office of Correspondence go through each message received. Kong said she saw messages to President Obama that ran the gamut. “You would hear the most heartfelt and horrific stories of people losing their homes or jobs, and then you would hear these wonderful messages of thanks or congratulations,” she said. “The whole experience definitely opened my mind to see what is happening in the nation.”