Internship Location: Madison WI
Organization Type: State Government
Policy Areas: Health, Social Justice, Education, Environment, etc.
My internship at the Wisconsin State Capitol in the State Assembly gave me valuable, hands-on experience with the legislative process. I supported a legislative office with research, policy memos, and constituent communications. La Follette taught me a lot of skills that were very applicable to my internship, including how to analyze policy, write with clarity, and how to break down legislation in a way that different people could understand. I was surprised by how much informal communication influences formal decisions. The most valuable part was learning from staffers and seeing how policy ideas are translated into actual laws. I would definitely recommend this internship to future students because I think it’s a great way to see how the things you learn in this classroom actually translate to the work you do outside of it. Looking towards the future, this experience has definitely pushed me to further consider how I can utilize policy in my career and what it looks like to be successful in doing so.