By Cara Burke
Summer 2013

Walking into my internship on the first day, I felt like I was playing dress up in my dad’s office. This has been my first experience working in a true office setting and it has been a great adventure for me. My favorite part of my internship is how it applies to my major and my future. I am an education major at Boston University and in D.C., I have been interning at the D.C. State Board of Education. When I graduate I plan on becoming a teacher but I hope to eventually end up in education politics so this internship has been a perfect introduction for me.

As a Policy Fellow at the D.C. State Board of Education, I have learned so much about the issues I have been taught about in class back at Boston University. The Board is currently working on things like graduation requirements, truancy laws, and school report cards and I have been able to sit it on many meetings about these topics. I have also been working on a research project about parent involvement which will eventually be presented to the Board! Smaller assignments, like looking at other education agencies plans for the coming years, has also helped me understand the current issues D.C. is facing and the politics behind them.  I run the Facebook page which has allowed me to spend time reading education articles from various sources to find the best ones to post on the page.

Being able to spend my day talking and reading about education has been amazing. I have learned so much from my colleagues and research. I would suggest an internship like this for anyone who is majoring in education!

At my internship.

Cara is a rising junior at BU School of Education. She is interning at the DC State Board of Education.