FOR most young Britons a roller coaster ride in America means a trip to a theme park.
But for Sonya Passi, 20, her four months on Capitol Hill in Washington were much more exciting.
Sonya, from Mottram St Andrew, was swept up in the US Presidential election campaign and found herself involved in the Congressional horse-trading over the controversial $700bn Wall Street bailout proposals.
She met Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, his rival for the nomination, while on an internship in the office of Florida Congresswoman Corinne Brown in the US federal capital.
Sonya, former head girl at Withington Girls’ School, where she gained A-levels in Maths, Further Maths, History and English Literature, is returning to Trinity College, Cambridge this month to complete the third year of her history degree.
She said: "It’s been a most amazing summer. It exceeded all expectations. I had a list of things I dreamed of achieving and I achieved them all. I loved Washington. It’s a beautiful city and if you love politics the buzz of the place is just amazing – and especially this summer."
She met Mrs Clinton at an equal pay rally in July while the New York Senator was still vying for the Democratic ticket.
Sonya’s "boss", had been an enthusiastic Hillary supporter and only switched to Barack Obama after the convention in Denver endorsed him as candidate.
But Sonya had been an Obama fan from the start and took to the streets to support him in the swing state of Virginia – just across the Potomac River from DC – after finishing work.
She finally met him at Boston Airport after working as a volunteer on his plane for the day.
"He is exactly as you’d imagine him to be," said Sonya. "Very charismatic, very friendly, very funny. He’ll definitely win. I have full faith in him."
Sonya, who wants to become a politician in the UK after training to be a barrister at graduate law school – most likely in America – said the last few weeks "on the hill" in Washington had been dominated by the financial crisis.
"We were inundated with people calling Ms Brown’s office begging her not to support the bailout of bankers with taxpayer dollars," she said. Whatever happens, the fallout will tie up the next president."
She added: "I love America but I couldn’t see myself living there. I have too many attachments here and I feel I’m connected in a one-to-one basis with the problems facing this country. That's what I’m really passionate about and that’s why I want to make a difference."
