Perspective | Penn goes to Washington

The highlight of Wharton junior Ashley Gunn's summer was spending an hour talking to President Bush.

"He answered questions off-the-record and was completely candid and honest," she said.

Gunn - who was one of only 100 summer interns to volunteer at the White House - earned this conversation while working with the National Economic Counsel, mostly researching renewable energy and the housing bill.

While not everyone gets to work for the Commander-in-Chief, Gunn is not alone - with the presidential election dominating the past two years, many students have found themselves drawn to politics, spending their summers both on the campaign trail and behind the scenes on Capitol Hill.

And although the election may have left some politically worn out, many political junkies are newly invigorated and eager to get back to Washington this summer.

On the campaign trail

College sophomore Rachel Thomas interned at the operations department of Obama's Pennsylvania headquarters since the beginning of this school year. She got the position by responding to an e-mail request from the campaign's listserv.

"Because Obama has been so inspirational and because of the state of the country right now, I really wanted to get more involved," she said.

Thomas is originally from Massachusetts - a state that is usually uncontested - and she said living in Pennsylvania, a swing-state, made her even more eager to work on the campaign.

Others, like College sophomore Kit Neuman, echoed how simple it was to get a campaign position.

Neuman spent last summer calling residents and canvassing for Obama in Northern Virginia.

"I just walked into the phone bank center wearing a 'Penn For Obama' shirt and one of the organizers hired me," he said.

Last year, College junior and former Spin blogger Mike Tate worked as a paid staffer campaigning for Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Col.), who was running for president at the time.

Tate said he e-mailed all of the Republican presidential candidates and Tancredo responded, asking him to blog for his campaign.

When looking for an internship, Tate advised students to "shop around independently" and create opportunities for themselves.

"I didn't expect him to return my calls, but he did, and I started commuting to Washington during the year," he said.

Working for campaigns, whether on a national or local stage, allows students to "do really interesting things at quite a young age," said Deirdre Martinez, director of the Fels Public Policy Internship Program and Penn in Washington.

For example, Mike Stratton, Wharton sophomore and Penn for Obama co-president, interned for the Obama campaign and worked as a campaign manager for state representative Rick Mirabito last summer.

Stratton worked on every aspect of Mirabito's campaign, from finance to media coverage to canvassing, which he said "is a unique opportunity for an intern."

And though he has been involved in political activities over the past few years, he said the election brought his interest "to a whole new level."

The election also brought out latent political interest in some.

Thomas said that before she worked for Obama's campaign, she never thought she would go into politics, but now she is considering looking for an internship in Washington this summer.

From Congress to the Capitol

While the election "may have gotten some people excited about campaign work, it got a lot of people excited about change and the actual policy process," Martinez said.

Many students who are interested in politics as a career go to Washington, D.C. over the summer, often to work with their local representatives, Penn Democrats president Lauren Burdette said.

Students and administrators described spending the summer in D.C. as a unique and unforgettable experience.

"It's exciting," said David Eisenhower, director of Penn's Institute of Public Service, adding that interns "network almost like osmosis," which for many students leads to their future careers.

Gunn said the atmosphere in D.C. is "fun" because of all the students who work there.

Another "cool thing about any political internship on the Hill is that everyone has a TV in their office and the news is always playing," she added.

College sophomore and DP staff member Haley Phillips worked in the House of Representatives for Congressman G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.).

Phillips said she answered phones, scheduled and gave tours of the Capitol, helped research legislation and attended hearings and briefings on a wide variety of topics such as energy, the environment and the economy.

Having always wanted to work on Capitol Hill, Phillips is more interested in politics now that she has "seen what the inner workings of Congress are like."

'A civic reawakening'

Penn offers several services to help students obtain jobs in politics, and administrators say more students than usual have expressed interest of late.

The Annenberg Political Internship in Washington - which is for Communications majors only - provides stipends and housing for students who find internships in the D.C. area.

The program only accepts about 15 students each summer, and it has been consistently popular over the past three years, Eisenhower said.

And a new face in the White House might draw a larger pool of applicants.

"Because this summer is going to be the first for the Obama presidency, undergrads are going to want to get to know people in Washington," he said.

The Fels Public Policy Internship Program also helps students identify and apply for internships during the summer and the academic year.

More 250 students participate in some aspect of the program each year - which offers resources in New York, D.C., and at Penn, Martinez said.

In part due to the recent presidential campaign cycle, "more students are taking coursework in public policy and thinking about going to Washington for the summer or the semester," Martinez added.

Martinez called the increase in student interest over the past few years "a civic reawakening."

Student groups have helped fuel the fire as well.

Burdette said that although Penn Dems does not place people in internships, the organization often posts available jobs on its Web site to help members find volunteer positions.

Back to the District

Many of the students who spent last summer working on campaigns or in Washington plan to find political internships this year as well.

Gunn, who is a Republican, said she would like to work for the Treasury Department this summer, even with a Democratic administration.

"I don't know if my political standing aligns with the new administration's political standing, which might be an issue in the future," she said.

Tate - who is also considering a return to D.C. - said being a Republican will not deter him from working in Washington over the next four years.

"Every end has a beginning, and there are more opportunities now than ever to rebuild the party," he said.

But not everyone who caught campaign fever these past two years is looking to make a career out of it.

"It was fun for one summer and good to get exposed to, but I don't think I want to do something in politics," Neuman said. "Maybe I'll change my mind down the road."

*This article was corrected at 10:10 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 to correct that Michael Stratton worked for Rick Mirabito for not Congressman Patrick Murphy, as the article originally stated.

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