By Cheryl Cranick, Honors Program
In 2006, Caitlin Donohue ’08 visited UConn’s Study Abroad fair on campus. It was there that she learned about the UConn Honors Congressional Internship Program in Washington, D.C. The partnership between the Honors Program and the Department of Political Science annually recruits six or seven students from across the university to compete for full-time intern posts with members of Congress from Connecticut.
“As a history buff, Washington, D.C. was obviously attractive, and as a journalism student, I was looking to be close to and involved with the news of the day,” said Donohue. But she was concerned about her chances since she was not a political science student. She also admitted feeling somewhat underprepared for an internship that centered on American politics. “I wasn’t even sure if I was a Democrat or a Republican,” she said. “And back then I didn’t seem to care! I had no idea about this bustling life on ‘The Hill’ before my internship and was not previously interested in government at the local, state, or federal level. I had no idea what I was getting myself into!”
After being accepted to the program, Donohue travelled to D.C. with her fellow UConn interns for the spring semester of 2007. She was placed with a first-term representative, Chris Murphy. The newly elected Congressman was just hiring his staff, meaning Donohue was the only student intern in his office. “I came in and began helping with everything,” she said. “Deciding how we’d answer the phone, figuring out how we’d sort and respond to mail, unpacking supplies in the cage from our predecessor, and getting Chris organized and oriented to his new role. … I was responsible for developing processes and organizing the operational functions of the office.”
What she lacked in political knowhow, she made up for in perseverance. “By the time my internship was over, we had most of it figured out, and I helped write the manuals before I left,” said Donohue. Come May of that year, Congressman Murphy hired her as a paid summer intern; then she became the office’s staff assistant in Connecticut—all before graduating from UConn.
She worked with the Murphy campaign as an office manager during the 2008 election. But she also expressed interest in moving back to D.C. Rep. Murphy had a full staff in the city, but the office had developed faith in her, and recommended Donohue to a new Connecticut leader. “A few days after the election, Rep. Murphy called Rep. [Jim] Himes, offering that I join him in Washington, D.C. for his Member-Elect orientation … and [I] again found myself setting up a freshman member’s office, but this time as Executive Assistant,” said Donohue.
She eventually became campaign finance director for Rep. Himes, overseeing fundraising. “Everything I found myself doing in those five years (as Intern, Staff Assistant, Campaign Office Manager, and Executive Assistant) helps me with everything I’m doing today and all I plan to do in the future,” said Donohue.
Planning on D.C.
Having taken only one political science course before her internship, Donohue developed her experience and interests on the job. But many students go into the internship knowing their future will likely be tied to D.C. For political science major Eugenia Logie ’13, “the D.C. program was one of the reasons I chose to come to UConn. … I was eager to gain a better understanding of how the government really works (not just how it is supposed to work).” She aspired to be placed with Sen. Joseph Lieberman due to her interest in defense and international affairs. “I had already studied foreign policy at UConn, the London School of Economics for a summer, and the National University of Singapore for a semester,” she said.
This past spring in 2012, her wish was fulfilled. Working with a staff of more than thirty people, including a second full-time intern, Logie assisted in administrative duties, constituent relations, and scheduling demands for Sen. Lieberman’s office. “More interestingly, I gave tours of the Capitol, attended over thirty briefings/hearings on foreign policy issues and wrote memos for legislative assistants, drafted [two] statements for the senator to speak from on the floor, and wrote briefing material for congressional delegation trips overseas,” she said.
John Dearborn ’13, also a political science major who interned this spring, said “I hoped the experience would help me grow professionally, and that I would learn about politics and Congress in a way not possible in the classroom. Add to that the prospect of living in Washington, D.C. on Capitol Hill, and the decision to apply was an easy one.” In Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s office, Dearborn helped with many similar duties as Logie, but shortly after assuming his role, the intern responsibilities fell solely to him.
“During my first week, the other full-time intern in Congresswoman DeLauro’s office got a job,” said Dearborn, “leaving me as the only intern who would be in the office all five days. … I was ‘baptized by fire,’ immediately needing to handle most of the tasks.” Dearborn attributed his preparation for the internship and its demands to his political science coursework and the “organizational, research, communication, and leadership skills” he had developed as an Honors student.
The interns noted that the members of Congress and their staff were welcoming, despite the pace of Capitol Hill. “During the first few days of the internship, [Congressman John Larson] consciously stopped his work to ask me where I was from and if I was enjoying my experience,” said Priya Ranade ’13, a political science and biology double major. “They offered to write me a letter of recommendation and encouraged me to come back and visit the office anytime. They also gave me career advice,” she said. Hoping to combine her interests in environmental science and policy, Ranade noted the staffers talked with her about professional opportunities available in the field after graduation. “There is an intellectual atmosphere in D.C. that I have not found in any other city,” she said.
For James Vastola ’09, “the chance to be in an environment with ambitious people from all different parts of the country, the world, and of different backgrounds, had a positive, eye-opening impact on me.” He interned his senior year in the D.C. office of Gov. Jodi Rell. “It’s safe to say I would most likely not be where I am today if I hadn’t interned,” he said. Now a full-time legislative aide for Sen. Lieberman, he focuses much of his attention on constituent matters.
A complete experience
The internship experience is a for-credit commitment of 35 weekly work hours as well as a political science course, “Congress in Action: Theory and Context.” The faculty of record for this course is Shayla C. Nunnally, Ph.D. An associate professor for the Department of Political Science and the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Connecticut, Dr. Nunnally travels to D.C. monthly to lead the formal classroom experience. “Students are introduced to the major theoretical premises in research and literature about Congress,” said Dr. Nunnally. “Their internship complements these theories to provide yet another lens through which they can see ‘Congress in Action’ first-hand and compare these realities with political science understandings about how Congress functions.”
The class is a writing-intensive Honors course that involves seminar discussions, community service hours, outside reading, a Friday-night meeting with D.C. alums or their local D.C. advisor, and also journaling about the Capitol Hill experience. “I loved writing the journal and kept much more of a diary of my daily experiences,” said Donohue. “I still go back and read this, and I’m so grateful to have written memories of that time in my life. I wish I had kept it up over the past five years instead of just for those first five months of my internship.”
Dr. Paula Wilmot, Assistant Director for Honors Residential Communities and Programming in Storrs, provides additional support for the internship program. She noted that Dr. Nunnally also encourages the student interns to “leave a legacy” behind in D.C. Last year’s interns discovered a vibrant desire existed at a local men’s shelter to understand and learn more about American politics. The students brought the men subscriptions of political journals to encourage self-education. Dr. Nunnally said her hope is that the internship will inspire the students “to become better servants of their communities, whether professionally or leisurely.”
Making memories
Outside of the broad academic experiences, the interns are given freedom to explore the city. Their home away from home is a house just minutes on foot from the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and the House and Senate office buildings, said Ranade. She also spoke of the Smithsonian museums and evening runs at the National Mall. Dearborn remarked about the local restaurants and shops. Logie noted the national monuments, the cherry blossom festival, and the cupcakes in Georgetown.
The students and alums also remembered the quintessential D.C. experiences. During Donohue’s internship, the First Lady’s chief of staff (a UConn alumna) invited the interns to the White House. “While we were going through security, someone jumped in the fence,” she said, “and we were placed in a holding cell beneath the West Wing. We wound up getting a full tour as we walked from the West Wing bunker to the East Wing and the First Lady’s office.”
Vastola said, “I’m embarrassed to admit my internship was the first time I had ever been to D.C. However, that made the experience very memorable. I mean, my first visit to the Air and Space Museum was for an inaugural ball!” The most recent class of interns was given a private tour of the restricted Capitol Dome; also thanks to a D.C.-based UConn alumnus.
“Overall, the experience taught me many things about myself and others,” said Logie, who appreciated not just the opportunity to know Washington, D.C., but also to work in a professional office. “The internship also taught me a lot about what I hope to find in a career, much of which I didn’t know beforehand.”
Vastola agreed. “Even if you decide you’re not interested in a career in public service, it gives you a deeper understanding of our government, and it’s something that stands out on a resume,” he said. “Capitol Hill is a place where big decisions are made, and for this reason it’s important that UConn students seriously consider this program.”
Learn more about this program.
Return to the Fall 2012 issue of the Honors Alumni eNewsletter