Internship Location: Madison WI
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Policy Areas: Health/Research
At this internship I learned more about the research process and values of qualitative research when working with underrepresented populations. I had the opportunity to code research data, conduct literature reviews, and collaborate with others to maximize data collection. Skills I’ve learned at La Follette related to communication, ethics, and research prepared me to build meaningful relationships through this internship and fine tune skills related to research process. I was surprised by the connections I was able to make through this internship and the opportunities I have had to be a part of other projects and expand my learning. It was valuable for me to work on research and policy that I am passionate about. I also valued working with others who showed the same commitment and interest. I would recommend this internship to future students because it is relevant to those pursuing the Health Policy certificate. This position offers a unique opportunity to work on the beginning stages of policy formation relating to problem identification and agenda setting. This internship expanded my idea of what my future career might look like. As a nursing major interested in health policy and research it is not always clear how I can transfer these skills in my future career. Collaborating with multiple disciplines in this internship and gaining real-world experience of how health and policy intersect allowed me to gain a better understanding of the many directions my interest and experience can take me in the future.