With the natural interest of many CMC students in politics and public policy, it should be no surprise that our students are particularly adept at navigating the sometimes tricky waters of D.C. internships. As they settled back into life on-campus, we asked a few of last semester's participants for reflections on their Washington, D.C. semester, as well as advice for this semester's crew.

Erica Anderson '08, interned at ABC News
Chad Jimenez '08, interned at HALT (an organization of Americans for Legal Reform)
Cameron Joseph '08, interned at The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress
Sean McGregor '08, interned at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Allison Strother '08, interned at Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates

Why did you want to work in D.C.?

Strother: "I wanted to be immersed in national politics and I thought there was no better way to do that than working in D.C."
Jimenez: "D.C. is the Mecca of politics . . . all students of politics should journey to D.C., not only to visit the great center of political life, but to learn something about themselves on the journey."
Cameron Joseph: "I wanted to experience firsthand what I have been studying in Claremont: the workings of government and the realities of U.S. politics."
Sean McGregor: "I knew I could learn more about government by being in D.C., than I ever could in the classroom."

What were your primary responsibilities?

Anderson: "Following the daily activities of the 2006 mid-terms for coverage on ABC News, writing The Note (an ABC News blog), attending press conferences around town. No one day was identical and everything was exciting and fast-paced."
McGregor: "I developed a classification scheme for environmental grants, helped out at conferences (I was on C-SPAN at one point when I worked the microphones during the question and answer session), performed research tasks, and generally assisted scholars Steven Hayward, Kenneth Green, and Joel Schwartz."
Strother: "I attended and reported on congressional and federal advisory committee hearings, redesigned and updated a Web site for a client, and co-wrote a proposal for a new business opportunity. I also attended client meetings and got to see how government relations strategies are created and implemented."
Jimenez: "I did many different things depending what needed to get done on a specific day. Sometimes that meant answering phones and responding to strange e-mails and requests. Other times I got the chance to work on various position papers, or edit articles and grants that program associates were writing. I always had the opportunity to write for our newsletter and e-journal, and I worked on our Everyday Law series, which provides people with basic information on how to solve basic legal problems—everything from the most recent scams to laws granting homesteads in Montana."

What was the greatest, or most meaningful, aspect or moment of your experience?

McGregor: "Getting the insider's perspective."
Joseph: "The last week I was in D.C., ABC News' The Note and National Journal's The Hotline each picked up one of the articles I wrote. It was a wonderful way to cap off my internship."
Jimenez: "The greatest moment was when I got to wander around the House. After a meeting with Congressman David Dreier (CMC Trustee, Class of 1975), I had a chance to just start walking around, as well as tour the pressroom. Just being in the House, past security, and having the chance to see everything up close was an amazing experience."
Strother: "I got to see the federal government in action, rather than just reading about it in a textbook."

What was the most surprising thing about being in D.C.?

Joseph: "The constant proximity of government amazed me—walking to work would take me past two embassies; running errands for work would take me to the Library of Congress, or past the White House; going for a run would lead me along The National Mall to the Lincoln Memorial."
Strother: "The usefulness and convenience of the Metro system was quite a surprise—I had no idea public transportation could work so well!"
McGregor: Politics is elevated to the status of sports and the weather. Everyone talks about it."
Jimenez: "I was surprised that most of the intelligent and powerful people in this country are actually very nice and decent people, if you ever get the chance to meet them."

Where was your favorite place to hang out in D.C.?

McGregor: "The National Mall. It was inspiring to go on nighttime running workouts to the Lincoln Memorial."
Anderson: "I had a great time working with three other interns, and we made time to see visit outside of work, over frequent brunches at Open City, which offered a relaxing environment and a much-needed warm cup. It's near the National Zoo in Woodley Park."
Strother: "I liked the Chinatown area. It had lots of good restaurants, a movie theater, shopping, and coffee shops."
Joseph: "I loved Busboys and Poets, in the U Street Corridor. It was this nice restaurant/ café/bar and independent bookstore that was a great place to hang out or to study at."

What was the most difficult aspect of your internship?

Strother: "Balancing my internship with school. I chose to take work home from my internship sometimes, so I had to make sure I wasn't focusing on work at the expense of schoolwork."
Joseph: "I was given a lot of responsibility early on, and had articles to write the first week on the job. Learning on the fly while confronting deadlines is a tricky process. Also, trying to balance my internship with class work was close to impossible at times—figuring out what had to be done and what could be put on the back burner often gave me headaches."
McGregor: "The food. I put on a few pounds from the free crab, swordfish, fillet mignon, and lobster that we would get on a rotating schedule."

Did you meet anyone famous?

Jimenez: "Maybe to me, but I realized that outside of the people who are government majors or government nerds, very few people have any idea who our 435 congressmen and women are."
Anderson: "The director of ABC News' Political Unit, Mark Halperin, wrote a book, The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008 with the Washington Post's John Harris. I was fortunate enough to be working at ABC when the book was released and was invited to attend the book party where most '08ers flourished. Senators McCain, Clinton, and Obama, Governors Romney and Vilsack…were all in attendance, and I got to mingle while This Week's George Stephanopoulos hosted the event."
McGregor: "Work was a goldmine of prominent conservatives. You never know if you are going to bump into Newt Gingrich, Richard Perle, or a Cheney (more likely their Secret Service agent)."
Strother: "The two most famous people I met were Christine Todd Whitman, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Sen. John McCain."
Joseph: "I talked to Senators John McCain, Barack Obama, Dianne Feinstein, and others, and Reps. Steny Hoyer, Barney Frank, Jesse Jackson Jr., Chris Van Hollen, and many other Congressmen, while working for The Hill. Through CMC's speaker series, I met Reps. David Dreier, Martin Frost, and author Francis Fukuyama, among others."

What advice do you offer students who will study in D.C. in the future?

Joseph: "I'd advise them to do as much as possible to experience D.C., even if that means working a little less at classes. While the classes are important and overall good, what you'll remember is not the readings, but your time in the city with friends and your experiences at work. You're there for the internship and to experience the city—make sure you keep that in mind."
Jimenez: "Go to the monuments at night, so that a wild pack of screaming school children does not destroy your moment of zen."
Strother: "I would highly recommend that future D.C. students put serious thought and effort into finding an internship that suits them well. Talking to past interns is an important part of this process; I decided on my internship primarily because of what I had heard from past Wexler & Walker interns."
Anderson: "The constant professionalism and stress of D.C. was at times overbearing, but jogs around our nation's monuments provided a great form of relief."

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Cameron Joseph '08 with Barack Obama

Erica Anderson '08 (far left)

Allison Strother '08 (left) and Jenna Hilbert '08

Second row, from left: Allison Strother ’08, Alex Griffing ’08, Chad Jimenez ’08, Tom Sprankling (POM ’08), Cameron Joseph ’08; (front row) Kindra Wilson (POM ’08), Madeline Scinto (PIT ’08), Erica Anderson ’08, Haiyang Zhang ’08, Sean McGregor ’08, Duncan Anderson ’08, and Jenna Hilbert ’08