PARTICIPANTS
Janice Kaguyutan
Janice joined Sen. Kennedy‘s staff in the spring of 2002, just as the Senate began consideration of a new Department of Homeland Security and authorizing the war against Iraq. The camaraderie amongst Kennedy‘s Judiciary staff and the high esteem they held for each other was clear, and Janice was a very welcome addition to “Club Judich”.
It‘s not uncommon for staffers to put in a few years on the Hill and then join the private sector, but many of Sen. Kennedy's staffers stayed with him for years, as Janice and Esther did. Janice‘s path to working on the Hill, and particularly for Senator Kennedy, helped us understand what keeps a long-term staffer so devoted to their work.
Janice‘s parents are immigrants, and when her father was finishing up medical school he did his residency in Massachusetts, but his visa was about to end and he was going to be deported back to the Philippines. He asked Sen. Kennedy to help him, and “he got workers like now me and Esther to work on his case”. Her dad got a visa extension to avoid deportation, and years later he and Janice‘s mother came back to the United States for good.
So her path was very personal, cinematic even, but Janice‘s talent and devotion to her policy work was every bit as impressive. Her directness and sense of humor made her a great favorite in the edit room.
