Experience Matters - Grand Valley State University

District Congressional Intern

Jill
Major: Political Science I worked on general administrative tasks, I read letters from constituents and assigned them to the correct staff member, I wrote letters to constituents, I helped with the district news update that was sent to all of Congressman Huizenga's staff, I helped with several cases for constituents dealing primary with Veteran Affairs and Immigration.

Campaign Internship

Zachary
Major: Political Science Cutting turf for canvassing operations Scheduling events Planning Fundraisers Handled Social Media Operations

My time at the Kent County Defender's Office

Andrew
Major: Political Science As a student investigator I was tasked with assisting the attorneys in researching cases, meeting with clients and preparing documents. Much of my time was spent doing intakes, which is a procedure that happens whenever a new client comes in. This consists of interviewing the client and discussing their charges with them. I was also required to prepare the necessary court documents for the preliminary hearings and other documents used by the attorneys.

Presidential Politics

Jakob
Major: Political Science While at Strategic National, on my first project I was put on a team of employees working both in Grand Rapids and Washington D.C. We reached out to students all over the state through multiple forms of communication in hopes of getting attendees for the Michigan Republican Leadership Conference that was held on Mackinac Island in late September. After a successful weekend on the Island, I was moved to a new project dealing with campaign finance. Soon after third quarter fundraising ended I began collecting mass amounts of data of individual campaign contributors to each one of the Republican presidential candidates. I spent weeks scrolling through FEC.gov to put together a excel spreadsheet to be run in our analysis software to better understand the demographics of specific types of campaign donors and contributors. After this analysis was run, we gained an insight to American voters, thus giving us a leg up on competition.

My internship in Senator Levin's Office.

Derrick
Major: Political Science While in the office, I was responsible for tracking and following correspondence from constituents, interest groups, and agencies. When necessary, I connected constituents with inquires to proper staff and/or agencies. I was the one typically the one who answered phone calls dealing with a wide range of topics from past/current legislation to more personal issues. This internship also gave me to opportunity to draft letters and become more familiar with the structure of a congressional office.

Intern on the Hill

Trevor
Major: Political Science While in Washington D.C. I had the opportunity to work on many projects. One of the tasks that I enjoyed the most was working with the constituents of the district. Every day I had the opportunity to speak with constituents on the phone, correspond with them through e-mail and letters, welcome them into the office, and guide them around the Capitol. I also had the distinct privilege of attending several briefings and hearings concerning various topics such as financial services, foreign affairs, and policy issues. Often times I would be asked to assist Staffers on researching legislation or standing in on meetings for them.

Field for Congressional Campaign

Brittany
Major: Political Science During this internship, I had many projects and tasks that needed to be complete. Often times I was in charge of training new interns with the programs that we used daily to track the progress we were making in reaching voters. I also trained volunteers on making calls and recording the responses. Other main tasks included making public appearances such as in parade or at events, creating flyers, and advising on future projects.

Internship with Senator Carl Levin - Washington D.C Office

Lizzie
Major: Political Science As a legislative intern, I spent most of my time attending hearings or briefings and writing memos. Personally, I was assigned to work with the Legislative Correspondent responsible for judicial issues, foreign affairs, and civil rights. I wrote short, two page papers about various topics including the TSA's possible policy change which would allow small knives back on airplanes and the proposed construction of a preclearance facility in Abu Dhabi, UAE. I also performed various administrative tasks such as sorting mail and email and giving tours of the Capitol to visiting constituents.

Law Firm Internship - Chase & Bylenga PLLC

Kevin
Major: Political Science Over the course of the semester my main responsibilities throughout the duration of the internship was to work alongside the attorneys and other staff members of Chase & Bylenga PLLC. Since bankruptcy is a long drawn out process, to ensure the rebuilding of financial stability, I had the opportunity to work with a variety of clients; those who were clients prior to my hiring as well as new clients who our firm was just opening their case files. Over the course of my internship the tasks that I carried out on a daily basis were and were not limited to attending and taking case notes for 341 meetings of creditors, attending and taking case notes for court hearings with the attorneys, observing intakes and various meetings with clients, calculating monthly incomes of clients to generate a viable budget plan, keeping client and creditor addresses current and up to date, document production of client's files, noticing of pleadings, and generating fee app reports. All of these tasks are of vital importance to such bankruptcy cases. These tasks are standard operating procedures in order to make certain that clients are following strict budgetary commitments in order to resolve their debts as soon as possible as well as keeping files organized for all attorneys and other staff members so that a customary, sequential process for achieving financial stability can be carried out.

MRP Victory Center

Meghan
Major: Political Science The main objective of the party at this stage in the election cycle is collecting voter identification information. In this goal volunteers and interns like myself were sent out with walk books of specific areas in Genesee County to collect information on registered voters to see if these voters supported the party's efforts. The same process of identification was also done over the phone with computerized call lists and the Smart Survey programming on the phones. I was also asked to call precinct delegates in attempt to get more volunteers in the office. In doing this work I met candidates and would work campaign fundraisers for these hopeful candidates.

Organizing for America

Caleb
Major: Political Science As an intern I got to do a wide variety of work, everything from phone banks to canvassing. I was appointed to the position of Canvass Captain and worked under my staging location director to set up and organize the canvassing for the weekend, tally numbers, and report them. I also registered voters on campus, did data entry, and worked to get volunteers.

Field Organizing

Khaleb
Major: Political Science As a Field Organizer for Organizing for America in Ohio I was in charge of 31 precincts in the South Toledo/Maumee area. I recruited, managed, and trained volunteers to organize their communities into neighborhood teams. These teams held regular voter contact events where they used phone banking and canvassing successfully to persuade and motivate voters to re-elect President Obama and other Democrats in Ohio.

Campaign Internship

mercedes
Major: Political Science i recruited volunteers and together we passed out flyers, hung up posters, did a phone bank every week, registered people to vote and spoke to organizations about why they should vote for Bridget

Trevor Thomas Internship

Landon
Major: Political Science I met with community members, made numerous phone calls, helped collect signatures to put Trevor on the ballot, started a student organization, planned events, and stuffed envelopes.

Summer at the MI House of Representatives

Kara
Major: Political Science I had a variety of tasks as an intern for a state representative. My duties included responding to constituent contacts and inquiries, maintaining contact lists, helping organizing mailings, going door to door in-district to meet constituents, keeping track of precincts covered on legislative walks and researching issues such as, infant mortality disparities, breast density and common core, to name a few. I also assisted the legislative assistants and did general office work when needed.

Technology Commercialization

Elizabeth
Major: Political Science Patent and Copyright research. I research patents and copyrights through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO.gov) and the US copyright office (Copyright.gov) Grant dissemination: I read through grant applications to determine if their presentations are accurate. I then give my approval and send it on for further review by my boss. Write Material Transfer Agreements and Confidentiality Agreements: I wrote the template agreements for the technology commercialization office. I make all modifications needed after signing an agreement with counter-parties. We have a material transfer agreement template for when we send out material that I wrote and maintain. This is used anytime we send or receive biological or chemical matter. I also wrote our confidentiality agreement template. Research and Development Committee: I sit on the committee and give student input on the requested grants that the committee receives. I also participate in a subcommittee that is looking to expand our grants program. Provide daily reception services. I field phone calls and emails, and organize meeting spaces. I also distribute mail, categorize and index filing systems, prepare and duplicate company reports and documents, and input and analyze data.

My Washington Experience

Kyle
Major: Political Science Many of my tasks were research oriented and were designed to obtain information for our clients in order for them to plan accordingly compared to the information I gathered. In many instances, the research that I would do and write about would go out in memos directly to the clients, which made me really feel like I was making an impact for the company and not just another intern.

My Washington, D.C. Experience

Alissa
Major: Political Science I gave my input for the 2013 National Drug Control Strategy, some of which will be included in the 2013 Strategy. I focused a lot of Prescription Drug use, Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs, and the effects drug use can have on pregnant women. I studied a variety of laws, and put together a variety of documents for internal use as well.

Liquor Lawerin'

Brennen
Major: Political Science A bulk of the work I was in charge of was analyses for proposed and enacted liquor law related legislation in the Michigan Legislature, federal requirements for manufacturing and exportation, as well as several other related issues. I kept the firm up to date on any progress or changes. I was also in charge of the firms social media presence and keeping regular information posted as well as drafting outlines for blog posts on the firms blog. I helped to prepare outlines of closing statements, bills of sale, promissory notes, purchase agreements, land contracts, and other documents related to the sale/transfer of real & personal property. On several occasions I attended Michigan Liquor Control Commission violation hearings & licensing appeals.

Playing In The Big Leagues

Brady
Major: Political Science Tasks completed. Filing of the Affidavit of Identity. Statement of Organization. Opposition research. Strategy development. Messaging development. Walk strategy. Fundraising strategy. Networking in the community . News interview prep. Radio interview prep. Debate prep. Platform cohesiveness. Marketing and advertising strategy. Etc.

Career Development through non-profit refugee work

Quinlyn
Major: Political Science My internship was a blend of research and development and administration. I spent the first half of my internship mainly focusing on the research. I would research specific countries and create country profile presentations that would explain the conflict in that country, and how the refugee situation was created. I also spend time doing extensive research on the process of becoming a refugee and the policy surrounding that. The latter half of my internship has focused more on parent engagement curriculum development and converting files over to a new format.

Volunteer Assistant Sprint and Hurdle Coach

Kalena
Major: Political Science I assisted Coach Keith and Tessa Roberts in hurdles and sprint practice. I help oversee study table hours twice a week for 3 hours a day. I help coordinated scheduling and practice times. I assist athletes in proper lifting technique and running form. I oversee community events such as Girls Day in Sports, Make a Wish Foundation and athlete student panels. I communicate with the athletic administration office dealing with confidential information. I was also left responsible for special events that pertain to our student-athletes such as team dinner, and distinguished speakers. Besides all of my mandatory tasks, I supported student-athletes and advised them in their personal lives.

Campaign Internship

Amy
Major: Political Science I did mostly research on townships and communities. I found out the most important town aspects were, meeting dates, events, parades, and current community projects. I also edited many fliers, thank you emails, etc. In addition I was an admin for the Facebook and Twitter pages, while also proofreading and providing a different perspective for the website.

Congressional Internship

Trevor
Major: Political Science Drafted policy memos, wrote correspondence, assisted in legislative research, lead capitol tours, provided administrative aid

The Washington Center Internship Experience

Rachel
Major: Political Science Along with the other interns, I planned and hosted a monthly pub quiz for young professionals. I assisted in executing multiple events with distinguished authors, professionals, and government officials,including ambassadors and foreign heads of state. I was also responsible for writing blog posts and summaries about these events. I was also involved in carrying out two week-long educational seminars for high school students and educators.