And is there an intellectual component to writing letters for Wamp?

“It’s getting there,” says Burhop. “I’m very happy.”

Thomas Bradshaw, 25, has also recently received a promotion — from staff assistant to legislative correspondent. Growing up in Alexandria, Va., he says, he was always interested in politics. Then he attended Sewanee: The University of the South, in Tennessee, where he became familiar with Tennessee politics. “It’s all good,” he says of his current post in Wamp’s office. Bradshaw adds that Wamp makes him accessible to his staff and is “easy to get along with.” What’s more, “he has a hands-on approach to mail. He’s interested in what we’re writing, which I think is unusual.”

Alex Richard, 26, is the third aide in the line of promotions. He was recently promoted to legislative assistant from legislative correspondent. He will cover defense, tax and some Social Security issues. Richard is the son of a U.S. Agency for International Development engineer and has lived in Morocco, France and Egypt for various portions of his life.

Sanchez’s posts

Gracing new posts: Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) is also in the middle of a sweep of promotions. The congresswoman has recently promoted three of her aides.

Virginia Mosqueda is making the leap from legislative assistant to legislative director. Prior to landing a job with Sanchez, Mosqueda, 31, ran an after-school program for a Hispanic-based nonprofit agency in Santa Ana, Calif. A graduate of University of California-Irvine, she received a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard. Mosqueda, in her new post, will oversee labor and immigration issues, including the Judiciary’s Immigration Subcommittee, as well as Congressional Hispanic Caucus issues.

A native of Coachella, Calif., Mosqueda moved to Washington in 2002 and took part in a Congressional Hispanic Caucus fellowship. The first half of her fellowship was with the Senate Democratic Steering Committee; during the second half of her fellowship, she worked for Sanchez, where she did everything from writing letters to answering phones to committee tasks.

Malcolm Grace, 33, is also being promoted, from legislative assistant to senior legislative assistant. Before getting a job with the congresswoman, Grace practiced class-action civil rights for a Washington, D.C., law firm. He graduated from Syracuse University’s undergraduate and law schools. Grace will continue to serve as the congresswoman’s Judiciary Committee staffer and will add the Government Reform Committee to his list of duties. He handles appropriations, telecommunications, drug policy, civil rights and reproductive-choice issues.

Why did he come to work on Capitol Hill? “I like the excitement and the variety of working on the Hill versus the monotony of writing briefs and researching at a desk all day,” says Grace, adding that working on the Hill allows him to help more people.

A native of Columbia, Md., Grace first began working for Sanchez in September 2003.

In her Lakewood, Calif., district office, Sanchez has also promoted Patrick Rodriguez from field representative to senior field representative. Rodriguez, 33, will continue to handle transportation, military and veterans affairs, law enforcement and business issues.

Before going to work for Sanchez, Rodriguez worked for a Texas-based consulting firm in Austin. He is also a veteran and noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and has served in Kosovo. In addition, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and from the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Md.