Interested in pursuing an internship in government or legislative affairs? Hear from four BC undergraduates who completed internships last summer in state and federal government positions. These students received funding through the Eagle Intern Fellowship (EIF) program which provides financial support for students completing unpaid internships. Applications for the EIF program are currently open!
Rylie Brentz, LSOEHD ‘22
Major: Applied Psychology and History
Internship Organization: Massachusetts State House
“As a Legislative Intern for Representative Ruth Balser, my day usually begins by picking up where I left off on summarizing and entering constituent emails or phone calls into the database that I was assigned the day before. My supervisor texts me in the morning to let me know what time I have to attend briefings and hearings. After hearings, I write a brief memo to send to Representative Balser about the bills that were discussed, focusing mainly on testimony that concerns her bills.
At 11am every morning, there is a speaker on Zoom, usually a state legislator, who speaks to all the legislative interns in Massachusetts. These speakers give a brief overview of their role in government, describe projects they are working on, offer advice about career paths, and answer any questions the interns have. Sometimes the speakers aren’t legislators, however. One of the most memorable speakers was a former drug addict who spoke about his advocacy work and the role legislators and government officials play in fostering support for recovering addicts and creating access to services.
In my down time between hearings and meetings, I work on projects that I am assigned. One of these projects was creating a presentation for Representative Balser about one of her bills, H.1196, “an Act ensuring access to full spectrum pregnancy care.” I was responsible for researching other states’ legislation regarding insurance coverage and copays for prenatal and abortion care and comparing these to Massachusetts policies. Another project I worked on at the end of the summer was researching statutes in other states regarding involuntary commitment laws for alcoholics and drug addicts. I created a 27-page chart including relevant sections of laws for each of the 37 states with these laws—Massachusetts being one of them— to serve as concrete evidence that only Massachusetts allows men to be sent to correctional facilities for treatment.”
Jane Rasweiler, MCAS ‘22
Major: Political Science
Internship Organization: The Office of U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (NJ)
“Working for a US Senator has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember; but that dream always included the hallowed halls of the US Capitol building, a blazer, and long committee hearings filled with government jargon I did not yet understand. That dream, like much else in 2020 and 2021, was altered significantly by the COVID-19 global pandemic. My internship would be virtual, out of the new district office of US Senator Robert Menendez (NJ) instead of in DC, and I would be working in Constituent Services, not in policy. I was beyond grateful for the opportunity but slightly disappointed that I would have to change my dream summer to fit my new reality.
The changes impacted my excitement, and they impacted my motivation, until I became determined to learn as much as I possibly could over the next six weeks. I spoke to constituent after constituent to learn about the issues New Jersey communities were facing and then I sat in on meetings to learn what we could do to help.
As I learned more and more, the one thing that I realized was, while working in a district office may not be my dream job, the most important aspect of any government role is to listen to the people who voted for them. Simply by making a return phone call to a constituent, I was able to solve an unemployment issue, discuss a bill, or simply brighten a day with a few minutes of small talk. By accepting my new reality and facing challenges head on, I learned that constituent services is the basis of all government work and I believe that lesson will stick with me for years to come.”
Michael McKean, MCAS ‘22
Major: Political Science
Internship Organization: Massachusetts State House
“The House Representative that I was an intern for, Representative Jeffrey Roy, was the chair of the Telecommunications and Energy Council for Massachusetts.With climate change at the forefront of our state and nation’s goals, my Representative was in charge of presenting legislation for the Offshore Wind project to the Massachusetts Senate. The two projects I directly did research on, Vineyard Wind and Mayflower Wind, were the first two companies to gain federal approval for an offshore site.
While working on this project, I learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes when politicians are crafting legislation. I was able to sit in on meetings with important executives from companies like GE or Tesla that wanted to give their input on how Massachusetts should develop renewables. During this project, it was always fascinating to see the delay in how the media reported on items. It felt as if I would listen in on something being discussed in a meeting that day only to see it on the evening news later. This drew me to the internship and project even more; it is much better working on something that you know actually matters. This was the largest project that I worked on this summer, as my research began back in May and was only finally ending in late August.
Throughout these months, I did not work alone but with a team of interns led by a staffer. This dynamic worked well for me, as I worked throughout the day with colleagues around my same age before turning in our progress to our staffer. Our staffer was our supervisor who was slightly older than us and directly reported to the Representative. This set-up felt very family-like where my colleagues and I were close and made it through the summer working for our supervisors together. I was very proud of the final version of our project and I know that the long summer of work that we put in was worth it.”
Samantha Robbins, MCAS ‘23
Major: Political Science and Philosophy
Internship Organization: Office of Senator John J Cronin
Listen here to Samantha Robbins (MCAS ‘23) explaining her “Day in the Life” as a Communications and Public Relations intern.
Want to learn how to secure an internship in international affairs? Check out the resources on the Government, Law, and Public Policy page and schedule an appointment with a career coach!
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