By Sean Conner

We all see the effects of government, but we rarely get to hear about the people who help make it happen behind the scenes. People like Alex Parham (‘16) are in charge of the day-to-day activities that help the US government run smoothly and connect members of Congress with their constituents. 

(Left to right) Alex Parham, Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ), and Parham’s friend Kent Ring. Photo credit: Alex Parham.

After Collegiate, Parham began his college career at Hampden-Sydney College as a pre-med student. However, his plans shifted after he decided to drop his biology class after only one week, because he was no longer interested in pursuing medicine. He then attempted to major in economics before shifting his plans yet again. Since he had changed majors twice already, Parham decided to take a government course, with no intention of majoring in this field. However, after class one day, Parham recalled that Professor James Pontuso told him, “I think you might want to look at government.” Parham looked into the world of government and realized that this was the field that he wanted to enter.  

Parham got his foot in the political door as an intern for Virginia State Senator Glen Sturtevant (R) in 2018. During his time as an intern, the Virginia Senate was debating Medicaid expansion. He enjoyed watching how our government works at the state level, but he was not satisfied with it being a part-time job. Parham wanted to experience work on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, a place where he would be engulfed in politics all the time. He gained his first experience on Capitol Hill as a paid intern for US Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) during the summer of 2019. Parham’s time interning for Kaine solidified his decision to go into government and work on the Hill.    

In the spring of 2020, Parham was sent home, along with millions of other college students, due to COVID-19. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney that May and took some time to relax over June, reaching out to people working in government jobs but focusing on finding the happiest work environment for himself.     

At the end of the summer, Parham decided to work for the Biden-Harris presidential election campaign, as well as US Senator Mark Warner’s (D-VA) reelection campaign, as a field organizer. As a field organizer, Parham “trained and recruited volunteers, managed interns, built connections in the community with leaders.” 

Following the 2020 election, which the candidates he had worked for both won, Parham briefly served as a legislative aide for Virginia State Senator Jennifer Boysko (D). He enjoyed working with her because he “knew it would be the last time he would work on policy,” since he would be moving from working in state government to the federal government. State representatives have fewer and younger aides than federal representatives, which allowed Parham to work more closely on policy.       

US Representative Donald McEachin (D-VA). Photo credit: WRIC.

Shortly after joining Senator Boysko’s staff, Parham accepted a job as a staff assistant for the late US Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA), who at the time represented Virginia’s 4th district, which included much of the Richmond area. As a staff assistant, Parham’s daily schedule was constantly changing. He was in charge of driving Rep. McEachin to the Capitol for meetings with the Democratic Caucus or to other appointments in Washington and walking with him to votes. Whenever there was a late vote or special session, Parham would be with McEachin. Parham said, “I built great rapport with Mr. McEachin. I like to think that we were pretty good at what we did, pretty good at taking care of business.”     

On his second day on the job in McEachin’s office, Parham would experience one of the most important days in recent American history—January 6, 2021. Parham was in the Cannon House Office Building, located directly across the street from the Capitol. Parham recalled, “We got a knock on the door from Capitol Police, and they were like, ‘Hey, you guys have got to go down to the tunnels and evacuate the buildings.'” Like many Americans, he and his coworkers, “had known that there were going to be a protest, but no one understood the severity of it.” Parham believed there was a bomb threat, which was true, but this was only the beginning of a long day.

After receiving an all-clear alert, Parham returned to his office, where he was informed that the alert was false and that he needed to return to the tunnels. The main difference was that the staff now needed to barricade themselves in the office. He proceeded to shelter in a Virginia Representative’s office for 7-8 hours until the riot was officially over. Once this happened, he returned to the Capitol to help Congress finish certifying the election. Parham recalled, “I remember that night we walked to the Capitol, and it looked like something out of a war movie to me, just all of these Capitol Police officers… recounting the day like they had been in war.” 

Eventually, Parham was promoted to legislative correspondent. As a correspondent, he is in charge of the mail program for Rep. McEachin. For the mail program, Parham drafted letters for McEachin and ensured that the mail got out to people living in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District. While many on The Hill think the job as legislative correspondent to be boring, Parham liked it. Parham said, “I enjoy getting to write and I really enjoyed serving my home district … we would send [letters] to someone who, let’s say, lives on Grove Avenue, and I’m like, I know where Grove Avenue is”.     

US Representative Bill Foster (D-IL). Photo credit: Daily Herald.

Sadly, Rep. McEachin died after a battle with cancer in November 2022, a few weeks after winning re-election to the House of Representatives. After McEachin’s passing, Parham accepted a job as a legislative correspondent for US Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), whom he currently works for. This was a different experience for Parham because, unlike McEachin, Foster’s district is more competitive. Parham has taken on this challenge with optimism, saying that “it forces him to be a better writer.”

While working in politics is not for everyone, Parham loves it. One of Parham’s favorite aspects of his job is the opportunity to mentor interns and aides. He said, “I think one of the best things that you can do is make sure that the next generations are ready to take over.” Along with his love of mentoring, Parham loves his job because of the knowledge that he is continuing a family tradition. Parham’s father, cousin, and great-uncle have served in government, and his great-uncle was one of the first black staffers on Capitol Hill. 

Parham plans to continue to working in government in the future and helping build a better tomorrow.