Washington ? Anyone who sees Joy Payne whispering in Rep. Christopher Cox’s ear during a hearing might easily mistake her for a seasoned veteran on the congressman’s staff.

In fact, the petite, soft-spoken, 73-year-old Payne of Laguna Woods, Calif., is one of Cox’s college interns. She’s a senior at the University of California, Irvine, in more ways than one.

Payne, a retired widow with five children, four grandchildren and three step-grandchildren, is working for Cox, her hometown representative, as she wraps up her late-blooming degree in political science. Always the oldest student in her UCI classes, Payne now joins the young intern corps.

Washington interns generally are college students who apply for competitive posts at the White House, Congress or key government agencies. The interns, who frequently go on to careers as elected officials or political aides, augment regular office staff rolls while learning about the legislative process and earning academic credits.

“I thought it was a very exciting time to come,” said Payne, who started her job in early October, after the Sept.11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. “But then, of course, we ran into the anthrax thing and a lot of people were pretty nervous about that. We’d all been handling mail.”

A typical recent day found her spending the morning at a high-profile House bioterrorism hearing taking notes for Cox, R-Newport Beach. She then hurried back to the office to her daily chores of answering the front-desk phone, making calls for staff members, greeting visitors, passing out faxes and doing legislative research.

“I wish every American could have the experience of seeing how hard their congressman works, and how hard their staff works,” she said. “They start at 8 and aren’t going home at 6 when I leave. I can’t believe what goes on around me.”

For his part, Cox, 49, said he has been impressed by Payne’s mature attitude and energy. “It’s absolutely splendid to have her on the staff,” Cox said. “She has a very strong work ethic, takes her duties very seriously, and has been a real inspiration in the office.”