Internship Location: Madison WI
Organization Type: State Government
Policy Areas: Climate change and general public policy
What I learned from my internship is that working within policy is nothing like learning about policy. What feels like common sense within the system isn’t as easy or as straightforward when actually practicing, especially when it comes to the Wisconsin government assembly. The skills that I learned in courses through La Follette helped me understand general policy jargon and helped structure my research papers. I also was able to read through bills and have a better understanding of what was going on rather than if I never took courses through La Follette. Something that surprised me during my internship was how things worked and what I was tasked with doing. I never realized how much actually went into running an assembly office and working as an intern is an integral part of that. The most valuable thing to me about the internship were the connections and community that was fostered within the office. The office I worked for seemed to really care for the well being of not just constituents but the people that work alongside them. The way working in the office felt more like a group project rather than being a subordinate was very special because we still maintained respect for one another. I would recommend doing the internship especially if you are passionate about public policy and you are worried about being as enthusiastic about practicing it. I think this internship has helped me find more clarity about what i want to do as a career and really is helping me go into the right direction.