COUNTING THE DAYS
Matt Shiraki '06 poses for a photo while the president's transport, Marine 1, takes off in the background. Photo courtesy of Matt Shiraki.
by Sharyn Kopf
February 26, 2009
This article first appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of Torch, published by Cedarville University
Unlike most of us, Matt Shiraki ’06 knows the exact day his job will end: January 20, 2009. That date hangs over his head like icicles after a winter storm. But he barely gives it a second thought. Because until that day comes, he plans to put all his time and energy into the work God has given him to do. That’s some pretty substantial thinking for a 23-year-old. He has a pretty substantial job, too.
Shiraki spends his eight-to-five as assistant to Tevi Troy, the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. For someone who, just six years ago, was a high school senior living in Guam, wondering what the future could hold, he has come quite a ways. He’s proud to admit he is where he is because of his years at Cedarville University.
“I love to tell people,” he said, “that if I hadn’t gone to Cedarville, this probably never would have happened to me.”
Coming to the University as a transfer, Shiraki started out majoring in political science. His dad, who is from Hawaii, and his mom, from South Korea, had met after they both moved to Guam in the 1970s. They inspired in their son a fascination with history and a duty to help others, and political science seemed like the ideal major. But midway through his sophomore year, he began to feel concern over the apparent difficulty of finding a job in that area. So he turned to another interest — teaching — and switched his major to integrated social studies education.
But when politics is in your blood, it’s hard to get away from it. In 2004, he joined the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign, volunteering at rallies and further igniting his interest in politics. Shiraki said Cedarville “gave me a chance to see the political process firsthand and laid the groundwork for me to pursue it.”
That led him to go a step further, and he began considering an internship in the office of then-U.S. Senator Rick Santorum. Though nervous and intimidated at the prospect, Shiraki applied ... all the while praying that, if accepted, God would use the experience to show him if it was the direction He wanted him to head in.
Needless to say, he got the summer internship, staying with his aunt in Philadelphia while working 30 hours a week in Santorum’s office. The experience was, as he had hoped, eye-opening.
“I got to see how the office worked,” Shiraki said. “I enjoyed the process — witnessing what public service was all about: helping constituents. It really validated my going in this direction.”
When he returned to Cedarville for his senior year, Shiraki entered another political internship, this time with U.S. Senator Mike DeWine, who had a district office just 15 minutes away. Having now interned at two senate offices back to back, he knew D.C. was the place for him.
So, what’s an ambitious, politically minded student to do but apply for an internship at the White House? With the help of Cedarville’s Career Services office and several Cedarville graduates who had served as White House interns, Shiraki spent the summer of 2006 working in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs for Ruben Barrales, the president’s liaison to state and local officials.
“The time went by really quickly,” he said, “but it was a fascinating experience — the greatest I’d ever had, up till then. To be able to walk down the halls of the White House and see what I saw was amazing.”
Of course, Shiraki was now a University graduate and in need of a job. Fortunately, his fellow staff members were so impressed by him that they encouraged him to apply for a staff position. As a result, that September he started working in the Office of Presidential Correspondence. He recalled, “One day, you’re wondering what you’re going to do; the next day you land the job. Having the chance to work in the White House was pretty phenomenal.”
It would turn out to be the first of several government jobs. And from the beginning, Shiraki questioned his capability. “I was nervous about not knowing enough,” he said. “I felt inadequate. But I also knew I had a good grasp of the issues … I was organized and worked well under pressure.”
Being organized turned out to be a key factor in his work. In such a fast-paced environment — with important projects coming at him from all directions — Shiraki had to be able to handle a lot of details quickly and efficiently. It turned out to be one of his strengths and yet another way in which Cedarville prepared him for a career.
“I actually think I was busier at Cedarville than I was at the White House,” he said with a laugh. “It helped me learn to manage my time well and stay cool under pressure.”
After four months in correspondence, Shiraki was offered a job in the Office of Strategic Initiatives, an operation created by former presidential advisor Karl Rove and former chief of staff Andrew Card. The office focuses on historical research and long-term strategy — a White House “think tank,” if you will. Shiraki served as executive assistant to Pete Wehner, the director of strategic initiatives. He provided Wehner with research, fact-checking, and editing support for op-ed pieces and rebuttals; coordinated senior staff long-term strategy meetings and the president’s conferences with historians and other members of the intellectual community.
In the summer of 2007, Shiraki was appointed as the White House liaison to Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. In this role, he communicated the president’s policies to this constituency and brought its concerns back to the White House.
Speaking of George W. Bush, Shiraki said, “It’s funny, I had been to at least a dozen rallies and came so close to meeting him, but never got the chance. A few months into my first job, I met him as he arrived on the South Lawn on his helicopter, Marine One. He asked me what I did and said he appreciated the work I was doing. Since then, I’ve bumped into him in the hallways and at various events. He’s always very cordial … a great person.”
Content to stay at the White House, Shiraki was taken a bit off-guard when, in October 2007, he was asked to interview for his current job in health and human services. He couldn’t resist the chance to work for a committed public servant like Troy, travel the country and the world, and be involved in a department that touches the life of every American. And that is what he will continue to do, until it’s time to step down and let a new administration take over.
As for the work he is doing, Shiraki gives credit where it is due: “It’s God who opened up this door. I’m so grateful for all I’ve experienced these past two years. Though I know the road ahead will be challenging and full of uncertainties, I’ll keep trusting God and working hard.”