Robert Ordway transforms his desire to be involved in politics into something tangible by interning at the Statehouse.
Ordway, 24, of Valparaiso, interns with Reps. Randy L. Borror, R-Fort Wayne, Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, and Don Lehe, R-Brookston. He works closely with their legislative assistants doing casework, constituent responses, phone calls, e-mails, and letters. He also deals with mail schedules and calendars. Interns help with surveys, both online and mail responses, and by getting bills filed and sitting in on committee meetings and taking notes. The session, which began Dec. 28, ends March 14.
Ordway has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Valparaiso University and will graduate in May with a master’s degree in international commerce and policy, also from UV. He is interviewing with both the House of Representative campaign committee and state party for a position as deputy finance director.
Compiling an extensive internship resume, Ordway continues to work on purchasing studies for the city of Valparaiso, which he started during a fall internship. He is analyzing data from various departments, looking for common purchases to see what can be streamlined or centralized to save the city money.
His experiences include serving a finance and insurance internship at B and E Honda in Valparaiso, a wealth management internship at Merrill Lynch in Merrillville, and a stockbroker internship for Scottrade, an In.c brokerage firm in Chicago.
“I was trying to get a lot of real-world experience,” he said. “I feel I have a well-rounded background now.”
In addition to interning, Ordway has worked for an engineering contractor in Gary and for ArcelorMittal off and on during the last six years. He also volunteered as a tutor at Valparaiso Boys & Girls Club. Growing up in the region has given Ordway his direction.
“I have a big heart for Gary,” he said. “I grew up a mile from Gary. I’m big into sociology, politics, and economics, and those three social sciences can only be studied together, not individually. The reason I got into politics is because I want to revitalize the region and I think Gary is the center of that and to strengthen the connection to Chicago.”
“To promote one region and one voice and I think Gary is a very important part of that.”