It’s my dream to intern for a united states congressman/woman or senator / state legislator.
I know of many other high schoolers who have done this, but they have all ignored my (annoying) instagram DMs asking how they got to intern for a national legislator/ supreme court justice/ other prominent govt figures.
I know an even larger number of people who have attended international UN conferences (and they didnt reply to my instagram DMs either geez am I not likable?!1!1!1!)
With my interest in govt and politics, does anyone know how mere high schoolers get such important positions?? I reallyreallyreally wanna do this like omg how cool would it be to work for a senator (regardless of how it would look on your application)
thnx!
Maybe search politicians in your area (or if you’re in DC, yell it from the rooftops) that have a history of providing internships and write them a letter that explains your interest and qualifications? I want to get an internship at NASA, so the process is quite different>.<
I would just look up your state and position you want- there are a lot of programs that fit your description. Like in MD you can do http://dls.state.md.us/Content.aspx?page=66
Just tons of online research. Try to get into contact with local politicians first, and maybe work your way up from there. You just gotta put your foot in the door. Lots of research, reaching out, and an open mind are needed. It’s most likely that you’ll first intern for a small position first. Nobody, unless you’re really outstanding and you catch their eye, gets to intern at such a big position at first (if you apply to one, they’ll look for experience and/or your abilities).
Something that I can actually help with from experience!
While I am a senior now, I have been interning with at my local Congressman’s district office since the summer before junior year. I obtained the internship after contacting the district office directly and asking them if they accept high school interns. While they had never had one, they were open to the idea and I was persistent and was able to pass the interview rounds and chosen as one of the summer interns.
My advice to you would be to simply repeat what I did. Contact your local district office - you can look it up at www.house.gov and ask if they accept high school intern applications. Be aware that it’d be better to do this in the spring before summer due to the schedule restraints that the school year causes.
Another important thing to be aware of is that you’re likely only going to be answering phones and doing general office tasks for the first few weeks or maybe the entire summer although each district office is different. I have been able to move up to assisting with casework and going into the district for events but it took me a while to develop the trust to do so.