Internship Location: Madison WI
Organization Type: State Government
Policy Areas: Performance auditing
As a performance evaluator intern at the Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB), I assisted a team audit on the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB). My tasks included writing research papers on the performance of SWIB and analyzing their policies and state statutes for compliance. I also conducted interviews with the auditee to better understand how they interpreted and followed these guidelines. As my first internship in the public sector, this experience was very valuable to me and allowed me to utilize several of the skills I had learned in my first year at La Follette. I learned the importance of teamwork in a professional setting. Employees at LAB work on teams to complete audits, and this made me appreciate the emphasis that La Follette places on team projects. I utilized various skills learned at La Follette, including that of evaluating agencies for performance measurements. My most valuable takeaway from this internship is that I can now bring real professional experiences into the classroom. Having a knowledge of Stata was valuable at LAB, as many audits utilize this skill when analyzing performance measures. It is also helpful to gain real experience in the public sector and be able to bring this experience back to La Follette. I am excited to be wrapping up my part in the SWIB audit and to see the full report released in Fall 2024. I would recommend this internship to students who are interested in state politics and are able to be nonpartisan.