Falling for D.C.
Hannah Tedder ’12 (Advance, N.C.) interned for North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx last year through Furman's Political Science Department. She reported regularly back to friends at Furman about her experiences. One of those communications bears repeating:
“As a Capitol Hill intern, one of my duties was to give tours of the United States Capitol to visitors from my representative’s district. One day, as my group exited the Rotunda, I pointed out the House Speaker’s office. As all good tour guides know, when walking backwards, it is best to look back every so often to watch your step. I’d like to think it was the slick marble floors instead of my clumsiness in high-heeled shoes, but whatever the case, I caught the back of my heel, and before I knew it, I was falling backwards, feet soaring in the air.
“Suddenly, I felt arms swoop in under me and a hand protect my head from hitting the ground. My rescuer quickly put me back on my feet. Humiliated, I did not turn around instantly but sheepishly looked up at my tour group. Every single person’s mouth was wide open, and their eyes were as big as golf balls. As I began to apologize, I was interrupted by a very familiar voice behind me asking, ‘Miss, are you alright?’ Whirling around to see Speaker John Boehner and his security detail, I realized the security guard in front was the one who caught me, and the Speaker himself was the one who caught my head.
“I thanked the Speaker, moved my group out of the way so he could enter his office, and heard other tour groups’ applause and shouting, ‘The Speaker just saved that intern’s LIFE!’ My tour group agreed that nothing would trump that experience. We ended the tour where we were.”