F&米的故事

富兰克林 & 马歇尔 students gained hands-on experience in public affairs this semester 通过在宾夕法尼亚州哈里斯堡的实习. F&哈里斯堡硕士实习包括课程作业 on Pennsylvania’s government and matched students with internship opportunities.

学生s applied to enroll in the course, which is taught by Stephen Medvic, F&M可敬的 和夫人. 约翰·C. 昆克尔政府学教授. 实习旨在为学生提供 with a deeper understanding of the complexities of government bureaucracy.

“It’s one thing to understand the academic perspective and the theories about how the government is supposed to operate, and it’s another to see it firsthand,” Medvic 说. “It’s not that the theories are wrong, it’s just that there’s a lot of nuance 当你在课堂上学习它的时候，你可能会错过.”

Marisol Rivera-Esquivias, a senior government and Spanish double major, was already seeking opportunities to gain experience with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture 当她得知实习的事. 

“Last semester, I testified on a panel of food-chain workers at the state capital as part of a campaign for Driving PA Forward,” Rivera-Esquivias 说. “我谈到 my life experiences as the daughter of Mexican immigrant farmworkers.”

Through this experience, she met Stephen Rudman ’05, director of legislative affairs 在宾夕法尼亚州农业部工作. F&M在哈里斯堡实习 it possible to turn this connection into an internship with the department. 

医生说。&M alumni in Harrisburg helped identify many of the internship opportunities 学生们被匹配. “在几乎所有的案例中，我们都有F&米连接.”

While some students were seeking specific internship opportunities, others were most excited by the opportunity to take what they learned out of the classroom and into 社区.  

Eva Smith, a junior government major with a minor in environmental studies, was drawn to the course because it seemed similar to 社区-based learning she’d experienced 2023年秋季在哥本哈根留学期间

“It’s a great way to learn firsthand and get hands-on experience, to get to know the 更多的社区，”史密斯说. 

Smith is an intern at Mercury Public Affairs, an international firm with offices in 纽约，伦敦，还有哈里斯堡. 她说和公司的各种 clients has provided a well-rounded view of potential careers with organizations or 因为她在乎. 

Medvic 说 he encourages students to reflect not only on the practical skills they’re learning but what they appreciate in a work environment or leadership style. “一些 of the students haven’t had internships yet, so it’s their first experience working 在专业环境中.”

Jennifer Leigh, a senior government and history major, has been interning in the Governor’s Office of Communications and 说 seeing staff who have transitioned from campaign to government work helped her understand the variety of career paths available in 政治. 

“It opened my eyes to what’s possible,” Leigh 说, as well as building her confidence 提高她的写作技巧. 写新闻稿迫使她磨练出简洁的语言 直接写作风格. 

“I’m figuring out what the main idea of a policy is and turning that into something 媒体和公众都能消化，”利说. 

While the practicum is focused on state-level government, students are building skills 这将使他们在任何情况下都受益. 大二学生Shubham Jha回忆了他的经历 interning with the Governor’s Office of Critical Investments as an international student. 

“Every country faces the same kind of problems, they’re just framing the questions 不一样，”贾说. “我可以思考如何将想法应用到尼泊尔，以及如何沟通 有不同的受众.”

During his internship, Jha has been working on the Pennsylvania Solar for All Program, which aims to implement and upgrade solar-energy technologies in low-income areas 以及全州的弱势群体.

“We focus on long-term proposals to make sure Pennsylvania has clean energy infrastructure,” Jha说. He’s confident that what he’s learned is applicable beyond Pennsylvania. “如果我能在这里解决这些问题，我在尼泊尔也能解决.”

对于里维拉-埃斯基维亚斯来说，F&哈里斯堡实习学院的M给了我一份全职工作 job with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture after graduation—and allowed her to reframe her relationship with the government of the state she calls home. 

“As a native Pennsylvanian, my previous visits to Harrisburg were accompanying my parents to meet with their immigration attorney,” which was often stressful, she 说. “Having the opportunity to be in these spaces of public service and power has been 对我来说是非常肯定和治愈的.”

Marisol Rivera-Esquivias, a senior double majoring in Spanish and government, who 在宾夕法尼亚州农业部实习. 

Junior Eva Smith's internship placement was with Mercury Public Affairs. 

Sophomore Shubham Jha's internship with the Governor's Office of Critical Investments 专注于清洁能源基础设施.

Jennifer Leigh, a senior government and history major, completed an internship in 总督通讯办公室.  

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