By Michael Taszarek ‘18
THE ROUNDUP
Mr. Mark Buse ’83 walked down a congressional office hall in 1984 dismayed that congressman Eldon Rudd’s office had turned him down an internship.
He walked to the payphone, called his dad, and his dad says, “Well this McCain guy just got elected. How about you try him?”
Mr. Buse walked down to then U.S. Rep. John McCain’s office and got the internship.
Mr. Buse is currently the senior advisor to Sen. McCain’s 2016 senate re-election campaign.
Mr. Buse has also held various positions within McCain’s election and congressional staff, and was Senator McCain’s chief of staff during his 2008 presidential bid.
Mr. Buse graduated from Brophy in 1983. He was very involved at Brophy. “I was a geek. I did a lot.”
Mr. Buse also stated that through being so involved at Brophy he learned out what he did not want to do with his life. “I volunteered at the Veteran’s Hospital as part of the Key Club, and I realized I did not want to be a doctor.”
Mr. Buse stated that Brophy’s sense of community and culture of giving back is how Brophy would affect him most for the rest of his life.
After graduating from Brophy in 1983, Mr. Buse went on to Georgetown University.
He would later graduate with degrees in the Humanities and International Affairs from Georgetown.
Besides working for John McCain, Mr. Buse has worked as a public affairs official for BP and as a lobbyist.
Mr. Buse encourages Brophy students that are interested in politics to intern and volunteer for the campaigns that they are interested in. “Do it, see what interests you.”
Mr. Buse recommends the same for students trying to find their political alignment. “Intern, volunteer at a variety of campaigns, with both parties.”
“It’s impressive,” Reese Galvin ’18 said. “It’s good to see former Brophy students achieving their goals. It’s a good example for us.”