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Caren Auchman - Cal in the Capital

"I was looking for an internship that would involve both my majors - Political Science and Mass Communications. I worked as an intern in Senator Barbara Boxer's office and devoted half my internship to working in the press office. There I compiled the morning and afternoon clips, which were articles from California newspapers that dealt with Senator Boxer's issues so that the Senator would be up to date on the issues occurring in California. The highlight of my internship was when I had the chance to draft a press release. I also worked closely with Legislative Assistants on issues that interested me such as women's issues, defense issues, and education. I even had the opportunity research topics that the Senator would use in her floor statements."

Henry Truong - Asian Pacific Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS)

"I learned about the APAICS from an email I received from the Political Science advisors.

"I was interested in the program because I saw it as a great opportunity to learn about the legislative process.I was an intern for Congressman Robert Underwood (D-Guam). I researched bills, assisted staffers in compiling the Congressman's legislative record, and assisted staff members when they wrote letters and speeches for the Congressman. I was allowed to sit in on meetings, attend committee hearings, and go to evening receptions with the Congressman or staff. Because the office wanted me to experience every facet of life on Capitol Hill, I was treated like the other staff members. I was given a key to the office, I had set hours, I had deadlines for projects, and the Congressman always called on me during staff meetings to ask about the progress of my projects.

"The internship was so important because it showed me the lifestyle that I would have if I were to become a staffer after I graduate. Some interns found the long and grueling hours, the intense and fast paced lifestyle and the weather (humidity in the summer and snow in the winter) to be unbearable, but I absolutely loved it. Spending the summer in Washington reinforced my desire to work on Capitol Hill. "

Charlotte Lee (BA Asian Studies and PEIS)

"I interned at the Smithsonian for a summer and my experiences with exhibit research and collections management were so positive that I decided to pursue museum work. After I graduated, I also volunteered to be a docent with the Smithsonian, which broadened my understanding of the public programming side of museum work. Museums are complex organizations full of offices and departments with specialized purposes; it was helpful for me to have exposure to different parts of the museum in order to understand my interests and talents."

Freya Lund (Mass Communications major & Cal in the Capital)

"I was an Investigative Intern for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). I worked with an investigator to research different cases for the EEOC. I also helped to take in new cases. I loved my internship because of the people I got to work with. It was also a very hands-on experience which made working much more fun. It was not just all paper work. What was frustrating about it? I was not able to see any one case go all the way through the EEOC process."

Zaheer Maskatia (BA Legal Studies)

"I was an Intern with the Islam Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). I assisted in the planning of a conference and researched issues on the foreign policy of Iran and their relations with the US, the EU, and Arab countries. I researched and wrote a profile of different militant groups in South and Southeast Asia. I also wrote a report on AIDS in South Asian countries and added to the Islam Program's information on elections in Southeast Asia. I participated in the Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy which included a policy presentation on the US's approach to the developing government of Iraq. I liked the feel of working in an office from 9-5 (or more like 8-7!) with other people from all over the nation and completing projects with deadlines.

"Being in DC was great. There was always something going on, whether it was the event at the Pakistani-American Congress, the convention of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America, or the panel at the Hudson Institute about the crisis in Saudi Arabia. There were also many opportunities to visit organizations such as the State Department and the Saudi Embassy."