Roger Williams University Student is Published on First Week of Internship

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Sabrina Caserta, a junior at Roger Williams University, had the opportunity to interview an actor at an exciting event and had her article published on her first week interning at The Hill. Sabrina talks about her experience below.

“When The Hill’s In The Know Reporter, Judy Kurtz, was looking for a volunteer to cover an Oceana Event on Tuesday night, I jumped at the opportunity. I interviewed actor and Oceana board member, Sam Waterston. I also spoke with some other board members and attendees for background, as well as Rhode Island Senator, Sheldon Whitehouse. By 10 am the next day, my article had been submitted for editing and back-read. By 4 pm that day it was up on the web! Out, covering the news, is where I feel I need to be. I’m very appreciative of the opportunity.” 

Duquesne and Dominican University Interns Work with Important Democrats on the Hill

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Molly Kirwan, a senior at Duquesne University, had the opportunity to be a legislative intern for Senator Robert Casey of Pennsylvania during the Fall 2014 semester. Her areas of focus in the office were issues of tax, trade, Social Security, jobs & labor, housing & homelessness, and pensions. Her major tasks included informing the Senator of current events in tax policy and trade policy on a weekly basis, analyzing the employment report put out by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on a monthly basis, and assisting in the organization of three separate Congressional hearings. 

Also on the Hill was Maggie Angel from Dominican University. As an intern in the office of Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, Maggie experienced Congress and the legislative process. She attended Senate hearings and briefings, wrote memos for legislative staffers, and conducted background research for future legislation.

Daemen College Intern Learns about History and Makes Her Own

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This fall, I interned at the National Museum of American History under Associate Curator, Debbie Schaefer-Jacobs in the Division of Home and Community Life. I helped her accession of a large school collection of about 900 items from donor, Dr. Richard Lodish. I had many tasks such as making packing lists for each visit, boxing up the objects from the donor’s house and bring them back to the museum, unpacking them in storage, photographing, sorting, measuring, describing and cataloguing them. Overall, this internship has really given me experience and a professional edge. I got to work hands-on with the objects and create a relationship with my supervisor and the donor. My hard work was featured on the front page of the Washington Post and NPR. I was very lucky and blessed to have this opportunity at such a well-known institution. Interning in Washington, D.C. had given me the confidence and independence to succeed in obtaining my goals. 

Colby-Sawyer College Student Intern Learns about Teamwork to Fight Disease

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“Deciding to intern with the Hydrocephalus Association was, I think, the best decision I could have made. I decided to take a chance. I entered an internship centered on a condition I knew very little about, and I was going to working on things that I had never really been exposed to before. Since starting my internship at the end of May, I have learned so much. One of the most important messages I will take away from my experience is that every person with hydrocephalus is different. Like many other conditions, no two people are the same. Many people have never heard of hydrocephalus, and if they have heard of hydrocephalus they tend to think it is only a problem in the developing world. I have learned though that more than 1 million Americans have Hydrocephalus, making it more prevalent than cystic fibrosis, and yet more people have heard of cystic fibrosis (I was one of those people).

Interning with the Hydrocephalus Association was a wonderful experience and I am thankful for it. Not only did I learn about a condition I knew close to nothing about, but I also learned a lot about being a professional. Having never worked in an office before, I was nervous in the beginning, but the work experience that I had taught me the importance of teamwork and though the work is different in this office, the importance of teamwork is stressed, which transcends to other work environments. The best piece of advice I can give to anyone about to start an internship is this: keep an open mind and look at everything as a learning experience. There may be days that are busier than others and there may be days where you do a lot of clerical work, but everything you do is important in some way to the organization you are working with. If you can remember that, then I truly believe you will have a great time with your internship. ”
— Erica Bradley, Hydrocephalus Association intern and Colby-Sawyer College Student

SUNY College at Plattsburgh student Jan Rodriguez plans for international career at Partners for the Americas

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Jan Rodriguez is a Latin American Studies student hailing from Plattsburgh State University. His internship is with a nonprofit called Partners of the Americas. Here, Jan is a Legislative Fellows intern where he is tasked with a wide range of responsibilities. Currently, he is working on a project that will provide him with transferable skills that he can use no matter where his career takes him. His organization will be participating in an international conference with attendees from the business and government sectors. Jan is researching best practices and resources for organizations doing strategic planning. He will compile his research into materials that will be used by his organization's President during a presentation at this international conference.

 

A day at the IRS, with Alex

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I am a junior at Rutgers University in New Jersey majoring in economics with minors in math and political science.  My interests include macro and microeconomic issues that affect the domestic and international economies and how they influence governmental policy.  After I graduate and earn my B.A. I want to begin my career path in the public service sector. Later in my professional career I want to transition to the private financial services.  Along the way I want to pursue a graduate degree; however, until I am certain about the specific career I want to obtain the debate whether to pursue an MBA or MA/MS will continue.  Currently, for the spring 2013 semester I am studying at the Washington Internship Institute one day a week in Washington D.C.  During the rest of the week I intern full time with the Internal Revenue Service in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer.  In addition, I study and research in the various libraries for my classes and the research paper I am writing for Rutgers University in order to gain course credit.

Being that my typical day as an intern is new and exciting I look forward to the experiences each day has to offer. Usually, I wake up at about 6 a.m. and quickly join the hustle of the DC commute on the Metrobus and Metrorail.  When I enter the office usually around 7:20, I first proceed by checking my email to organize my schedule of meetings and work tasks assigned.  Afterwards I meet each of my co-workers at their cubicles to have a little discussion and ask questions about any of the emails they have sent me. I may ask if there is anything I can assist with if I happen to not have anything to work on.  No matter how simple or complicated the task, I try to accept them all even if I am currently busy. I feel that this is necessary so I can show my co-workers that I am eager to learn and can take on responsibility.  I forgot to mention one crucial part of my morning, coffee, without it I would be in a daze and not prepared for the challenges a waiting the moment I step in the office. 

On Tuesdays there is usually an hour-long staff meeting in a conference room where I sit in and my business unit discusses their game plan for the day and week ahead.  I make sure to always take a notepad and pen with me to any sort of meeting or when I am talking with a co-worker.  Your co-workers want you to ask questions, it is expected of you as an intern, and without doing so you cannot learn and gain invaluable firsthand experience.  At the conclusion of the staff meeting I head back to my cubicle and begin the work I was assigned.  Thus far, my work has consisted of creating quarterly budget reports in excel and revising and editing memos. I am also assisting the audit liaison in following up on provided by client (PBC) deliverables that the Financial Management division is responsible for providing to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in accordance with our yearly audit, and I have begun to review the Unpaid Assessment Estimation process procedures in order to assist the group’s statistician.

At lunch time I grab another cup of coffee to give myself a short break or occasionally eat lunch with a professional in my office to learn more about their career path.  At the conclusion of the work day I make sure to say goodbye to my boss and other co-workers.  Directly from work I try to have at least one to two networking meetings set up a week to meet with professionals to help expand my network and gain invaluable insight to different careers and opportunities.  I am always looking for a networking opportunity or just an informational conversation with a professional during my daily commute.

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