U intern Breanne Miller had one of her first tastes of the whirlwind politics of Capitol Hill when the immigration reform bill went before Congress a few weeks ago.
“It makes the whole office crazy when big bills happen. There are mass amounts of calls from constituents– every time you check, it’s like there are 100 voice mails,” said Miller, a recent U graduate in political science and Spanish, and future U law student.
As an intern for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Miller sees national politics at eye level. Working only a few blocks away, however, intern Johanna Diaz got to see the immigration issue from a very different viewpoint.
Diaz, a recent graduate in political science, is an intern for GOPTV–the broadcast division of the Republican National Committee.
“I helped a Hispanic lady calling a Hispanic radio and television station about immigration,” Diaz said. “It gave me a Republican point of view of the situation.”
Both Miller and Diaz are in Washington, D.C., for the summer on internships with the Hinckley Institute of Politics. A total of 35 U students are interning in the nation’s capital this summer, working at places ranging from Senate offices, lobbying firms, public policy organizations and the American Civil Liberties Union.
“With things like the immigration bill last week, it’s interesting to see what each intern takes away from it–from GOPTV to the RNC to the DNC,” said Ryan Jensen, a junior finance major interning at the lobbying firm Larson, Stewart, Myrick & Link, LLC.
While the interns work at different places, most live together in an apartment complex in Northwest D.C. subsidized by the Hinckley Institute.
Students pay $350 per month for housing and the Hinckley Institute pays the remaining $325. Four students live in each two-bedroom apartment.
In the Hinckley Institute intern program, students are provided with $800 scholarships each month to cover living expenses. Fall and spring internships last four months and the summer internship is three months.
“The Hinckley program is really unique,” said intern manager Courtney McBeth. “With most schools, students have to find internships, and find the money and housing, on their own. With us, any student can come into the office despite economic background or lack of connections in D.C. (and get an internship).”
Students can receive up to 12 hours of academic credit for working full time, which is 40 hours per week.
To receive credit through the Political Science 4900 intern course, each student must complete a 10- to 25-page research paper, with length depending on the number of credits the student is receiving. He or she also has to complete evaluations, attend meetings and do a book review on Robert H. Hinckley, which reflects on public service.
But a few essays are a small price to pay for most interns, who spend the summer weeks brushing shoulders with congressmen and political big shots.
Although Miller said she does spend her time doing a lot of “mundane tasks”–answering phone calls, running errands and giving tours of the Capitol–she did get to meet Sen. Reid twice.
“He’s a U of U alumni. We bonded over that,” Miller said.
At his government-relations firm, Jensen said he gets to see the legislative process from the lobbyist point of view.
“I got to follow the lobbying ethics bill passed by the House last week, focusing on how it relates to the universities,” Jensen said.
He said one of his most exciting experiences was when he got to sit in on a closed-door meeting on behalf of his boss.
Rebekah Shriver, a senior in political science and mass communication, also works with Diaz for GOPTV. Shriver said she chose this internship because she wants to do political reporting on television.
She said their studio feeds footage of Republican congressmen to news stations when they can’t make it to the studios or events.
Both Shriver and Diaz said the Hinckley Institute has a very strong program for interns with a good reputation in Washington.
“A lot of the interns for GOPTV have been Hinckley interns,” Shriver said.
When the workday is over, interns spend time together in their apartment and out on the town, visiting monuments and the Supreme Court, going to bars, taking daytrips and even planning trips to cities such as New York and Boston.
On Memorial Day, some of the interns went to Arlington National Cemetery and heard President Bush speak.
Despite the long workdays and increasing humidity, interns said they enjoy their jobs.
“It gives us a whole inside view of politics,” Shriver said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the Hinckley (Institute).”
U students Rebekah Shriver and Johanna Diaz present the party line for “GOPTV” during their internship in Washington, D.C.