Many of our undergraduate students had an exciting summer completing internships. Read below to get to know our students and their summer experiences.
Name: Grace Beedles
Year: Senior
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Majors: Political Science and Strategic Communication
Internship Host: Online Computer Library Center (OCLC)
A little about my internship: I worked as the Employee Engagement and Communications Intern at OCLC. I assisted with planning the Americas Sales Meeting for over 100 participants and coordinated the internal newsletter. In addition, I helped review legal contracts for vendors that participated in our employee engagement events.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: I really enjoyed being able to work with a variety of people in the organization. The nature of the events, I helped plan involved all branches of the organization and enabled me to expand my professional network. I also enjoyed being able to work on a team during the internship. Furthermore, I developed my event planning, interpersonal and collaboration skills.
Name: Andres Berrios
Year: Junior
Hometown: Hudson, OH
Major: Political Science
Internship host: VoteSmart
A little about my internship: I was an election monitoring intern for VoteSmart over the summer. VoteSmart is a non-partisan organization that provides unbiased information to the general public. During my internship, I helped my supervisor ensure state election results were accurate and updated, as well as collect data regarding current and past election cycles.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: My favorite part was learning how different states have different election laws. When dealing with multiple states and their election results, it was intriguing to see how different these election laws are.
Name: Mayank Bongani
Year: Junior
Hometown: Columbus, OH
Major: Political Science
Internship Host: Ohio Civil Rights Commission
A little about my internship: I was an intern for the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC). The OCRC is a state law-enforcement agency that handles cases of discrimination in employment, housing, and places of public accommodations. Forms of discrimination they cover are mainly racial and disability based. I worked under the compliance department which handles numerous areas. I was in charge of creating the docket (meeting minutes) for hearings, working with the ARC database to sort/filter cases, and assisting with other operational tasks.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: My favorite part of the internship was the exposure I gained from doing relevant work. Being put immediately in the workplace and having to do tasks that were crucial to the function of the agency allowed me to learn quickly. I also really enjoyed how open and positive the staff was to their interns. Sadly, most other internships I’ve worked at have not being as inviting and had a more toxic environment. I’ve realized that my past experiences have allowed me to appreciate this internship even more.
Name: Riley Hoover
Year: Junior
Hometown: Dublin, OH
Majors: Political Science and German
Internship Host: US House of Representatives
A little about my internship: This summer I served as a legislative intern for a Member of the US House of Representatives. My responsibilities included answering phone calls, writing and sending letters to constituents, leading tours of the US Capitol building, sitting in on stakeholder meetings and writing memos, and writing cosponsorship letters.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: My favorite part of my internship was getting to see Congress working in real time. This summer I was able to see Congress react to many major events. For example, I saw my boss working to codify reproductive rights and raise the age to purchase assault rifles. I also enjoyed being able to walk the halls of the US Capitol and getting to see many famous faces. Through my internship, I was able to learn about, and participate in, the legislative process.
Name: Charlotte Ide
Year: Freshman
Hometown: Toledo, OH
Majors: Political Science and Social Work
Internship host: Johnson and Associates Law Firm
A little about my internship: Due to privacy concerns I was only able to do so much; I worked as a receptionist I did a lot of filing, making phone calls, and faxed documents.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: My favorite part of my internship were all of the amazing people who were at the law firm who helped me learn a lot; I learned so much I became better at phone calls and emails and I really learned a lot about a law firm actually works!
Name: Suzan Mchao
Year: Senior
Hometown: Columbus, OH
Major: Political Science
Internship host: Office of US Senator Sherrod Brown
A little about my internship: I worked as a full-time Senate legislative intern on Capitol Hill in D.C. through the Washington Academic Internship Program. I specifically worked on our trade, labor and manufacturing portfolios where I drafted constituency letters which were disseminated and produced memos on important issues the senator would address. I also was a constituent advocate which allowed me to be the first point of communication between Ohioans and our office. Last, I did several administrative tasks such as scheduling interviews for incoming interns and helping to coordinate an intern lecture with the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms who I also had the honor of introducing.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: My favorite part of the internship was living in D.C. with fellow interns who aspired to change the world for the better but in their own unique ways. I learned the inner working of a personal Senate office and how they can directly impact constituents.
Name: Irshad Molla
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Dublin, OH
Major: Political Science
Internship host: Citizen University
A little about my internship: I am the Youth Collaboratory intern and advisor for Citizen University (CU). CU is a civic organization working to strengthen democracy through civic action. My role is to advise the 24 high-school students selected across America to take part in the National Youth Collaboratory. Through online sessions and an in-person 3-day trip in Washington D.C, I help them with their civic power projects. They range from bridging political polarization, fighting for education justice, and climate-based projects. I went to Washington D.C in June to meet with these students in person and help network with Civic CEO's from across the nation as well. CEO's came from Fair Vote, Opportunity Youth United, New York Public Library, and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, just to name a few. My tasks were to help outline a plan that showed students power circles, supportive community leaders, and potential obstacles that would come in the way for their respective projects.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: My favorite part was to work with 24 bright high-school students and listen to their unique perspectives that will bring great changes to their communities. I also loved to be able to go to D.C and meet with adults that have been working in this civic space for years and hear about their goals and accomplishments. I learned that creating civic change is a tedious process but one that is worthwhile.
Name: Noor Pasha
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Schaumburg, IL
Major: Political Science
Internship host: Flannery Georgalis, LLC
A little about my internship: I was an administrative intern at Flannery Georgalis, LLC, over the summer. This law firm focuses on white collar criminal defense, corporate internal investigations, and complex business litigation. My tasks consisted mainly of compiling large amounts of data into spreadsheets, such as doing research on the largest lobbying firms and the criminal defense firms in the state. I also did clerical work: filing invoices, organizing files, and keeping track of inventory.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: I was exposed to general office culture for the first time- I was able to see firsthand how people communicate professionally with one another and how an office is maintained. I was constantly making my own decisions on how to prioritize my projects, and as a result I became increasingly self-reliant.
Name: Courtney Picklesimer
Year: Senior
Hometown: Plymouth, OH
Major: Political Science
Location host: Richland County Prosecutor’s Office
A little about my internship: As a legal intern, I would assist the prosecutors in any way possible and also learn about how the office runs. This included going to Common Pleas and Municipal court and attending trials, visiting the crime lab to look at evidence, or sitting in on victim and witness meetings. I had the opportunity to work on criminal cases as well, which ranged from going through evidence, making case summaries for reference, or listening to jail calls. For civil cases, I read through contracts to ensure that they were legal and approved by the county.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: My favorite part was being able to have such a hands-on role. I had the opportunity to go through a phone dump on a counterfeiting/ drug trafficking/ criminal tools case, and the evidence I found led the defendants to plead guilty rather than having to go to trial. It affirmed that the field I’m going into is rewarding and I was able to see a slice of what law can do!
Name: Amani Samuels
Year: Senior
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Major: International Studies with a Specialization in World Economy and Business
Internship host: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
A little about my internship: My role this summer was as Intern for the Community Development and Engagement department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. I was able to serve on development-based research projects serving both Indian Country and the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: My favorite part of interning at the Fed was being at the intersection between economics and policy, and working with both individuals with political and economics backgrounds who were all passionate about finding solutions to aid our communities in the most need.
Name: Sophia Shannon
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Dayton, OH
Major: Political Science
Internship host: Addison Caruso for Ohio State Representative
A little about my internship: This summer through the November election, I have been acting as the social media manager for Addison Caruso’s campaign for state representative. Caruso is running for state house in Ohio district 36, encompassing Oakwood and parts of Dayton, Kettering, Moraine, and Jefferson Township. It’s a very small campaign, with me as one of four official members of the team, including the candidate. Additionally, district 36 is the most competitive house district in Ohio, with just a 0.3% difference in partisan lean. Since coming on, I have started Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok accounts for the campaign, and taken over managing the Facebook page. I also manage graphics, forms and event sign-up links, donation asks, and weekly email updates. I contribute to canvassing and writing statements, and I’ve recently been reaching out to newspapers, podcasts, and other media to get Caruso’s name out.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: My favorite part of the internship has been getting to speak directly to voters and hear what issues they’re most concerned about. I’ve been able to meet a wide range of people from across the political spectrum and with different levels of political knowledge and experience, and I’ve greatly enjoyed having honest conversations with them about what’s going on in Ohio politics and what they want to see happen. It’s helped me fully realize just how important face-to-face voter contact is in election cycles, and how just showing up and listening can have a real impact on peoples’ opinions of a candidate.
Name: Andrew Wong
Year: Junior
Hometown: Dayton, OH
Majors: Political Science and Psychology, Pre-Law
Internship host: Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office
A little about my internship: I was an intern this summer and had the opportunity to watch multiple court proceedings in the adult and juvenile systems. I was tasked with research, completing paperwork, Spanish translation, and participating in trial school.
Favorite part of the internship and what I learned: It was the Spanish translation with clients! I learned a lot, including communication with clients in the English and Spanish language, more understanding about the trial process, especially Voir dire, and the ins and outs of the PD office!
