New Hampshire Interns Hit the Beltway Scene
By Kim Forrest
WASHINGTON – In the years following the Monica Lewinsky affair and the Chandra Levy disappearance, interns in Washington have become associated with scandal and salacious gossip. However, according to some young D.C. interns from the New Hampshire area, these stereotypes are certainly not what interning in the nation’s capital is all about.
An estimated 20,000 interns a year, generally unpaid, spend their days hobnobbing with the most powerful and well-known in politics today, and are not always the coffee-toting, copy-making, mail-opening, phone-answering laborers that many make them out to be. No matter what may happen in Washington, through scandal, terror alert, or sniper attack, interns remain a vital part of how our nation’s capital runs.
“Since that whole mess with Monica Lewinsky, I am sure that the word “intern” has very different implications in many people’s minds,” says 26-year-old Keene State College student Stacia Howell, who is currently interning at NationalGeographic.com. “As far as my experience here…I have found that interns are looked highly upon, more so than I had anticipated.” She added that when she first told people that she was interning in Washington., “Monica” jokes would automatically follow.
Brad Fitch, deputy director of the Congressional Management Foundation, which publishes the Congressional Intern Handbook, said that since the Bob Packwood scandal of the 1990s—during which the longtime Oregon Republican senator resigned over charges of sexual harassment-employers have been “much more sensitive to female interns.” He added, “There’s a whole new awareness regarding sexual harassment and safety issues,” saying that in the newer addition of the handbook, a section on sexual harassment and safety was added.
Craig P. Donovan, author of Internships for Dummies, called the Lewinsky and Levy scandals an “aberration.” He said that such events called attention to problems of supervision that some interns have, noting that sometimes “organizations don’t take time to properly develop their internship programs” and that interns are left with “misuse of time and energy.”
Although some students may have had concerns about having such undeveloped internship programs, most fears were assuaged once they started work. Howell, who had never been to Washington prior to her internship, noted that she had concerns about being “[a] gofer…at the bottom of the totem pole,” but has found that she has “actual work responsibilities, and [interns] are respected and treated like any other employee.”
Kerrianne McWalters, 21, a Dickinson College senior from Deering, NH, interned at the Software and Information Industry Association last spring, and also found she was given her share of responsibility. “I worked directly under the litigation coordinator to process piracy claims in preparation for litigation,” she said, listing her many responsibilities, such as investigating piracy reports and preparing cases.
According to Peter Stephens, managing director of The Washington Center, which he says is the nation’s largest center for young professional training programs, Washington internships are not just for students with political aspirations but “are open to students across academic spectrums,” ranging from law to the environment to engineering. “What [interns] really get to do is ‘try on’ the career that they’re aiming for,” he said. “If they’re pre-law, [they can]… see what goes on day to day being a lawyer.”
While interns are typically college students, high school students also can get into the act by applying for the competitive Congressional Page Program during their junior year. Westmoreland native Jeff Mitchell, an 18-year-old senior at Keene High School, spent the last school year as a page in the House of Representatives. He worked in the Republican cloakroom, and explained that he had to know what was happening on the House floor at all times, meeting some well-known politicians in the process.
“I had to know every congressman by face,” he said. “I met the prime minister of Australia, Tony Blair, Hillary Clinton, Bob Dole, John McCain, Donald Rumsfeld.”
Mitchell’s ninth day of work happened to be Sept. 11, 2001. He said there was “mayhem” when the Capitol had to be evacuated. But he added that the anthrax scare was even worse because part of his duties required handling the mail.
Despite the many tragic events, Mitchell never wavered in his intent to stay in Washington. “I was never scared about staying,” he said. “My parents asked me if I wanted to come home, some of my friends wondered why I didn’t want to…. [The scares] weren’t a strong enough reason.”
C. Olivia Zink, a December graduate of the University of New Hampshire, recently interned at the Environmental Protection Agency and was Washington during the sniper shootings. She said that it was certainly the worst part of her stay in the capital, and noted that among her friends and family “concern [about living in Washington only arose once the sniper attacks occurred.”
Experts say that D.C. internships are an important and valuable step in starting a career in any field.
“An internship in Washington, D.C., is one of the most highly coveted internship opportunities there is,” Donovan said. “Washington, being the capital, provides access to individuals and organizations… [that] cannot be equaled anywhere else.”
Zink said that her internship was very important to her professional development, saying, “It taught me what I want and do not want in a job and gave me experience that was more valuable than a semester of taking classes.” As for their careers, many New Hampshire interns are considering pursuing permanent jobs in the capital
“I would [want to live in Washington],” Zink said. “The atmosphere in D.C. is great. It’s a young city.”
McWalters echoed those sentiments, saying that she hopes to find a position in the capital after she graduates. “I had a wonderful experience living and working in D.C.,” she said, “and I feel I am better prepared for the ‘real world’ because of it.”
Published in The Keene Sentinel, in New Hampshire.
