Internship Location: Madison, WI
Organization Type: Private
Policy Areas: Government Relations/Lobbying
This summer, I interned at CUNA Mutual Group’s Department of Corporate & Legislative Affairs. CUNA Mutual Group is a not-for-profit mutual insurance company with the mission of creating a brighter financial future for everyone by providing financial services and products to help credit unions and their members. During my internship, I learned that the purpose of the Corporate & Legislative Affairs team is to monitor the state and federal legislative and regulatory environment, especially as it relates to CUNA Mutual Group’s products and services. Throughout my internship, I attended various webinars, presentations, and local political events on behalf of the team to share insights on important issues and trends facing the insurance industry. I also had the opportunity to meet with local leaders in the credit union advocacy space and write letters to different elected officials on public policy issues of interest to the company. CUNA Mutual Group has a robust internship program and planned intern events throughout the summer that encourage peer-to-peer learning, most notably the annual intern case competition called the Herring Cup. I also enjoyed getting to learn about financial inclusion initiatives, including the Community Development Credit Union (CDFI) campaign and participating in the company’s Engagement Resource Groups (ERGs) to build community with employees across different departments. One of my favorite projects was collaborating with another intern to organize and give a presentation to rising 9th grade students in the Urban League of Greater Madison’s Project Reach Program. Overall, I had a positive internship experience and I would recommend it to students who are interested in government affairs, lobbying, and the financial services industry.