As exciting as it might be to work for a lawmaker who stuck his name in the hat for the 2008 White House race, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) intern Matt Wall got one of life’s greatest adrenaline rushes in his previous gig as an English teacher in Buenos Aires.

Settling down for a solo dinner of Chinese food at a restaurant near his Argentine apartment, Wall, 23, heard the dining room door open and looked up to see a gun in his face. The thieves grabbed his money, raided the restaurant’s cash register and left.

Wall, a blond, burly former lacrosse player — who looks like he could have beaten his assailants in an arm-wrestling match — said the burglary “got the heart rate going, for sure.”

But he remained calm.

“I sat back down and finished my food,” he said, adding that “everybody loves that part” when he retells the story.

Such an even keel may pay off for Wall as he pursues a career in politics. The Colorado State University graduate has been interning for Tancredo for approximately four months, mostly doing administrative work but also dabbling in constituent correspondence and press.

He is now looking for a job on the Hill as a legislative aide. He says he would eventually like to pursue a graduate degree, either in public administration or law.

Wall, who counts Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater among his political heroes, said he has not had any encounters with any high-level politicians while working on the Hill.

But with his keen interest in crime investigation, Wall said he would like to meet former sheriff and current Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) because of the congressman’s work in catching a notorious serial killer known as the Green River Killer.

The Colorado native, who grew up in Tancredo’s district, said he hopes to return to his home state some day to continue his political career and ski.