political internship
Chris
Experience Information
Employer: west Michigan democrats
Job Title: political intern
Major: International Relations
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: No
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
The West Michigan Democrats are a political organization that seeks to assist in winning elections for national and state level democratic party candidates. Through voter canvassing, organizing and public education of the issues that face us as a nation and the state of Michigan we help voters make informed decisions.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
While with the West Michigan Democrats I participated in ground and phone canvassing. Initiating and maintaining voter profiles, data and following up with voter inquiries. After collecting raw data I was responsible for entering clearly and precisely of said raw data into a national party database to be used by campaign strategists and managers.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
-Greater in depth knowledge of the democratic voting process. -practical data entry processing skills - Interpersonal communication skills within a political atmosphere - learning and implementing political science theories and then applying these theories to test results.
Favorite Part of the Experience
Using the raw data to make political tactics more affective. Also utilizing data from what would seem like unrelated sources and having it create a target voter profile.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
It was a valuable experience but I feel that I would not repeat it if given a second chance. I thought I would be doing more than canvassing but 99% of what I did just did not interest me. Although this internship is slightly related to my major I feel domestic politics isn't as interesting to me as international politics.