PennPac hosts internship talk

Students looking for Jewish service experience and social opportunities in the nation's capital were treated to a panel discussion last night presenting several opportunities for summer internships in Washington D.C. The panel, assembled by PennPac -- Penn's Israeli Public Affairs Committee -- consisted primarily of Washington-based Jewish political organizations. About 20 people attended the event. The six speakers detailed the internship opportunities available for interns in their Washington, D.C., organizations and world-wide affiliates. The speakers also stressed the fact that there are numerous possibilities for interesting internships outside of Washington. "If you don't want to work in D.C., there are various internships available [through International Hillel] throughout the U.S. and Canada," International Hillel representative Janet Berger said. In fact, one of the organizations present did not offer any internships in Washington at all. The Aliyah Center, represented by Gabi Raubichek, deals solely with internship opportunities available in Israel. The organization offers students the option of working in any one of a number of academic, religious and secular environments. PennPac Vice President and College sophomore Imri Eisner --Ewho has participated in several Aliyah programs in the past -- said he recommended the internships highly. "They're phenomenal programs and they connect you to the right organizations," he commented. Out of the six organizations promising similar experiences and opportunities, three offer stipends for their interns ranging from $50 a week to $1,500 for the entire summer. Two Penn students also spoke about their internship experiences. Wharton sophomore Gabe Schiff and Engineering senior Shira Neustein both spoke highly of their experiences in Washington. Neustein boasted of the responsibilities given to her at the organization for which she worked, the Anti-Defamation League. She stressed that the group did not treat her as an ordinary photocopying, envelope-licking intern. Instead, she was able to concentrate on lobbying and legal tracking throughout the summer. Schiff was similarly entrusted with a number of professional responsibilities during his internship with the Capitol Hill Orthodox Union. Working for Senator Alfonse D'Amato (R.-N.Y.), Schiff gained valuable insight into the nature of American politics. In addition to the work experience he acquired while interning, Schiff added that he also had a thriving social life in D.C. "Washington is 50 percent work and 50 percent fun. There are 20,000 students interning in Washington over the summer and the social opportunities available are enormous," he said. Schiff plans to return to Capitol Hill next summer, and recommends the experience to other Penn students. Information on internship opportunities at any of the organizations present at last night's meeting --Ewhich also included representatives from the Jewish Campus Service Corps and the American-Israel Political Action Committee -- is available at Hillel.