"Ten weeks, 47 days, hundreds of miles walked, thousands of letters and phone calls and many of the most important issues facing our Country, and I've wrapped up my summer of service."

So begins the final blog entry of Paul Connet who served as a 2009 summer intern for U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore as part of a JCCC political science independent study by arrangement with Marilyn Gaar, professor, political science and history. To fulfill the class requirements, Connet kept a daily blog and created a nine-minute video detailing the responsibilities and benefits of a Congressional internship.

Connet's stand-up commentary, much of it filmed in front of the U.S. Capitol dome, covers intern activities from logging in 100 percent of the Congressman's correspondence to red-badge visits to the White House and House floor.

You can visit Connet's website to see his professional video and insightful comments, but it is meeting Connet in person that gives you a sense of his high-voltage energy regarding internships, politics and learning in general. In fact, math is Connet's declared major, and law school is a high probability.

Connet has earned 15 JCCC semester credit hours, all online. He began JCCC classes after his freshman year of high school and his Moore internship in May 2009, three weeks before high school graduation.

"I have taken a wide range of JCCC classes, such as composition, trigonometry, international relations and economics," Connet said. "Taking JCCC classes has been a great experience. It really helped me transition from high school to college to know the expectations of college professors in comparison to high school teachers who see you in person every day."

Connet, who only comes to campus occasionally to take a test in the Testing Center or meet with a professor, says JCCC faculty have been very supportive of his online studies.

Connet just completed his freshman year as a full-time honor student at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he started its debate program. He planned to take Intro to Comparative Government at JCCC this summer. This summer, he is serving as a White House intern from June 1-Aug. 20.

The Moore internship was Connet's second internship. His first was for a national political caucus in the summer of 2008, the summer before his senior high-school year. He also completed a second one-month internship with Moore from Dec. 15, 2009-Jan. 15, 2010.

Connet says the two most significant things he learned from his Moore internship were 1. The responsibility of a Congressman to communicate with constituents and 2. The way policy is shaped, specifically the hot topic of health care legislation debated in the summer of 2009.

Connet observed that all of Moore's staffers are former interns, but he has not finalized career plans. He is keeping his options open and working toward other internships (it's too early to reveal his next one). One thing is sure: With his ability to communicate in person, video and written blog and with his can-do enthusiasm, readers will hear more about Connet in years to come.