Lily Neves's Spring 2025 Internship in Congressman Gabe Amo's Office

Tell us about your internship.

My name is Lily Neves and I am a legal studies and political science student at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. This spring semester, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the Washington Internship Institute (WII) program and intern in the House of Representatives for Congressman Gabe Amo of Rhode Island. During my time interning in the House, I learned more than I ever could have in a traditional classroom setting.

What sort of work did you do at your internship? Are there any projects you are proud to have worked on?

A typical day for me at my internship would be arriving, checking my email for any new assignments from the previous day, answering constituent phone calls, logging voicemails and other forms of constituent communications, researching and writing recommendations for policies, and leading tours of the Capitol Building for constituents.

One of my favorite projects I worked on was creating a legislative strategy memo for a bill that I came up with. It allowed me to think critically about legislation, what it would take to get my bill passed in the House, and what obstacles I would run into if it were to be introduced. This project also allowed me to see how the game of politics is played and how you have to be strategic on who is your co-lead and how to get bipartisan support on an issue.

What is your favorite part about living in DC this semester? Any Recommendations?

During my time in DC, I fell in love with the city and everything it has to offer. Before coming here, DC was always one of my favorite cities in the country and living here for the semester has made it even more clear that I want to pursue a career here. Some of my favorite experiences in DC were going to the White House Spring Garden Tour, attending the Nationals game with the cohort, a moonlit river cruise on the Potomac, and even getting the opportunity to see DC from the dome of the Capitol with other House interns.

The people I met along the way also helped to make my DC experience absolutely amazing. I was able to form close friendships with the cohort of WII interns that will be sure to last long after we all head home. We were able to explore DC, find the good restaurants, and even stress about who was going home on the Bachelor on Tuesdays. We also were able to connect with each other based on our professional experiences and the growing pains of networking.

Dr. Barlow’s internship class helped me to think about my personal professional brand and how I can best set myself apart from other job candidates when it comes to applying for jobs and also how I can best advocate for myself in the workplace and at my internship. Professor Driskell forced me to think about the institutions in Washington in a drastically different way than I have ever been taught before and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the class.

Do you have any advice for future students in our program?

Some advice I would give to incoming interns is that you should not be afraid to put yourself out there. This town is based on networking and coffee chats, and the first one is always the scariest. When I got to DC, the WII orientation speakers said you need to network and in my head I said, thanks for the advice but I will not be talking to random people about work. As the semester progressed, I left my comfort zone and started to attend networking events where I was able to meet Chiefs of Staff, Legislative Directors, and expand my network. Later, I began setting up one on one coffee chats, first with staffers in my office, then with other professionals I met in passing. As Dr. Barlow always said, people love to talk about themselves, and that is essentially what a coffee chat is all about!

Overall, my time with WII has been a time I will never forget and I will never hesitate to recommend this experience to anyone who is on the fence about it. Just do it, and you will not regret it.

Some of my favorite places in DC:

●       We, The Pizza - great pizza and homemade sodas

●       The Wharf - has great holiday events like Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day, and Cherry Blossom celebrations

●       The Renwick Museum

●   The African American History Museum