GREENSBORO, N.C. – It’s not often that you’ll see a 6-foot-4, 220 pound ACC quarterback walking through the halls of Congress, answering phones and getting coffee for a member of the House of Representatives.
But besides being the Terps’ signal-caller, senior Chris Turner is also a government and politics major. So that means doing the Capitol Hill internship thing like everybody else. Turner is interning this summer for Congressman Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland’s 5th District and the House Majority Leader.
Turner’s intense interest in politics is well-known at this point. During last year’s election, he talked about how he, as a Barack Obama supporter, often debated the issues with fellow quarterback Jordan Steffy, a backer of John McCain. Ironic when you think about it.
Now, Turner is doing it for real, or kind of. Like most interns, he’s assigned to the grunt work: which includes the phone, coffee and mail duties. And the beautiful thing is he said he’s such a political junkie that he loves every second of it.
“It’s funny to compare how serious politics is and how serious football is,” Turner said. “Depending on who you talk to, they’re both pretty big deals.”
Later, Turner said of his experience, “there’s more to life than football.” Great perspective from the Terps’ QB. And don’t worry, he said he’s still getting enough time in on the offseason training front. After all, his boss graduated from the university. It’s safe to say he understands the importance of Turner getting to those summer 7-on-7 workouts in time.
Aaron Kraut is the The Diamondback’s sports editor. He can be reached at akrautdbk@gmail.com.
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