Video and Story by Halie Cook

A Santa Clarita teen is going to the East Coast this fall to work alongside some of the most powerful people in the country.

Valente Montes,19, is heading to Washington D.C for a once in a lifetime opportunity to intern for Congressman Buck McKeon.

“I knew I liked politics after taking a few government classes in high school,” says Montes. “I thought, this is something I can do and something I am interested in. I believe I could serve the American people someday.”

Life was not always easy for Montes. He was raised by a single mom who arrived in the country in the 80s and worked while going to school to try to provide a better life for her son.

“We didn’t have a lot of money, everything was very limited,” said Montes. “We couldn’t always do the fun activities we sometimes wanted to.”

After graduating from Burbank High School, Montes moved to Santa Clarita and became enrolled at College of the Canyons.

Montes soon found out about an opportunity to be an intern at Congressman Buck McKeon’s local office. After interning for a few months and moving up in the ranks to Congressional Senior Intern he approached the district director about a new opportunity.

“I talked to the district director about possibly interning in Washington D.C.,” said Montes. “After a few days and a 30 minute interview I was told I was going to Washington.”

Although the opportunity is exciting for Montes, he is worried about being so far from home.

“I’m kind of worried about being a place where I have no family,” says Montes. “I am going to be living about a block away from where I will be working with three people I have never met.”

The estimated cost of the trip is $7,500. This is not an easy amount of money for an intern and restaurant employee to come up with.

“I started my own crowd funding website and I encourage anyone who wants to invest in my future to visit it,” said Montes. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that could affect my whole life so any help you can give would be appreciated.”