Internship Location: Madison, WI
Organization Type: Politics
Policy Area: Nonprofit/Public Management, Consulting, Government relations/lobbying
For the fall 2022 semsester, I interned at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (DPW) from mid-August until mid-November, an entire election cycle for the 2022 Midterm Elections. I was a political intern within the Political Affairs Department and worked directly with the director of the department. As an intern, my main responsibilities were to support members of the party by replying to their emails and answering phone calls during office hours, to process donations and mails, to update membership information in our databases, and to track elected officials at the state and local levels. Throughout the internship, although I was working for a political party, most of my work was not political but rather informative. Most of the time, I provided information for callers who had questions about upcoming events or volunteering opportunities, and when they needed to comment on certain things, I listened to and documented their concerns. From time to time, the calls would get intense when I had to talk to passionate callers who have strong opinions on various topics. Overall, this was a great learning experience for me to remain calm under pressure, and to gather accurate information quickly and efficiently. By managing the databases of members and elected officials, I also improved my skills in organizational management, which I found extremely useful for my other work and involvement. Most importantly, I learned and experienced the importance of state and local politics with regard to national, and even international, governance.