March 2005

Students gain experience, earn credit in capitals

Emily Goldman is director of the UC Davis Washington Program. (Sara Lombardo/UC Davis)

Even as undergraduates, UC Davis students are working alongside politicians and policy-makers at the highest levels of state and federal government through the UC Washington Center and the UC Center Sacramento.

Both are unpaid internship programs that provide students academic credit for spending a quarter working in the state and U.S. capitals. At the same time, students attend classes and prepare substantial research papers focusing on politics and policy.

The word "intern" can bring to mind images of the most menial of office tasks, but that's not the case with these internships.

"Washington is a city run by interns," says Emily Goldman, director of the UC Davis Washington Program. "The students get a lot of knowledge and a lot of access that the rest of us don't have."

A variety of settings

About 45 UC Davis students participate in the program each quarter. Some work on Capitol Hill or in the Pentagon. Others work in museums or archives. Some choose to intern with political parties or think tanks.

The students come up with their own ideas about where they would like to intern and staff members help to arrange that, Goldman says.

The associate professor of political science says students get the experience of working in a fast-paced, professional environment as well as the benefits of working closely with faculty members in small classes.

"It's a dynamic quarter and, if I could, I would go back and do it," she says.

Linda Vu is a fourth-year student majoring in political science and philosophy at UC Davis. The San Jose native works for the U.S. Department of State in the Office of the Undersecretary for Global Affairs. There she hopes to influence policies regarding how sex trafficking is connected to HIV and AIDS by gathering what little empirical evidence there is on the topic.

Vu says she has been surprised at how much of a role she has been able to play in the office. "They really treat me like a colleague," she says.

Since arriving in Washington in January, Vu has already come in contact with some of the city's highest leaders. She has heard Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speak and has been within arm's length of Rice's predecessor, Colin Powell.

Vu says she and fellow UC students also sightsee in the area, visiting places like the White House, the Smithsonian Institution, Mount Vernon and the Arlington National Cemetery. "This is just a very exciting place to be," Vu says.

UC Center Sacramento

Arianna Smith, an English and history major in her final quarter of studies, also initially hoped to work in the policy arena. Instead, she is at the ground level of politics, working in state Sen. Deborah Ortiz's field office across from the state Capitol.

There Smith deals primarily with constituent issues, which can mean anything from drafting response letters to helping frustrated and sometimes angry people navigate the maze sometimes required to get Social Security checks or unemployment benefits.

"I'm definitely busy all day, and what I'm doing does create concrete results," Smith says. "I feel like I am helping people."

The UC Center Sacramento recently celebrated its first year and officials hope to expand the program in the future. About 15 students from throughout the UC system participate in the program each quarter.

As internship director for the center, Erika Peters helps to place students in representatives' offices, in state agencies and in non-profit organizations. Despite the newness of the program, she says, finding willing employers for the interns has been fairly easy.

"They get bright, competent, enthusiastic UC students, and that alone is something that people are usually excited about," she says.

The deadline for students to apply for the summer 2005 Sacramento program is April 15. Applications for the fall 2005 and winter 2006 Washington program are due April 26.

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