Sitting beside 16-year-old Neha Bhatia, one would never guess how a summer job working for Toronto city councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker would teach her the fundamentals of politics and how the minds of politicians work.

While scrambling to complete her 40 hours of community service, Neha heard about this volunteering opportunity in Grade Nine. She took the chance and wound up as the youngest person working at city hall. Neha would receive comments such as, “Why are you here? There isn’t a school trip today.” Yet after proving herself for three years, Neha was hired by the councillor to organize events and answer phone calls regarding concerns the people of Toronto had.

Along with gaining communication and organizational skills, she learned to cope with different situations. One of which was an outburst by a senior. “You don’t have the right to cough while I’m talking to you because I pay your salary!” he said to her. Another was a constituent calling in to express his distress about a dead kitten.

Nonetheless, this turned out to be a valuable experience for Neha. She had the opportunity to meet various people in Toronto like the mayor and ask any questions such as concerns about the TTC.

While working for the councillor, Neha had even considered the becoming a politician herself because of how much they fight for their community. However, she has also discovered a side of politicians where they are not direct in answering her questions.