JESSE

 

 

Intern, U.S. Department of Education

Major: GVPT

Class Year: 2021

LinkedIn Profile

 

 

 

What was a typical week like in your internship position?

In my office at DOEd, I work around 20 hours per week. In this time, I am working on several projects and tasks, while maintaining constant communication with colleges as I am working remote. In addition we usually have around 1 or 2 meetings per week with our team to give updates and discuss new ideas.

 

 

What do you enjoy most about your current position?

The part of my internship I enjoy most are the people I work with. Everyone who I have talked to is extremely passionate about education and all of the programs that DOEd runs.

 

 

How did your coursework help you in your internship?

Being a government and politics major helped by shedding light on the inner workings of government. More specifically, how departments act and have acted given historical circumstances. Furthermore, having more knowledge obtained from classes and being able to showcase that knowledge in an internship setting shows interest and enthusiasm.

 

 

How did you locate your internship position?

I have always wanted to work at DOEd as my primary field interest in college was education policy. I did research, talked to some former interns, and applied on the website.

 

 

Advice for students:

My advice would be to treat every internship as if it were a real job. Even though you may not be getting paid, committing yourself to a higher standard will do a great job of simulating a real workplace. For searching, try to narrow or rather streamline your search as best as you can so you can focus most of your energy on actually applying and interviewing. Before accepting a position, really try to envision one tangible benefit that the internship may provide and how that will benefit you in the future.

 

 

Try to see every opportunity to practice professionalism in college as experiences that will put you ahead in the real world.