MU students pursue political internship opportunities

The Civil Leaders Internship Program at MU tailors internships to student's needs.

By Victoria Guida

Published Dec. 11, 2008

After an energized election season, students who are still excited about being involved in politics are looking into internship opportunities on a local and national level.

Junior Carl Werner, a member of the MU Campus Libertarians, said he applied for congressional internships for this summer.

"As someone who has been interested in politics for a long time, I've personally always wanted to work in Washington, D.C., for a legislator, but there's no doubt that the recent elections have increased my interest," Werner said. "I decided that it was time for me to stop sitting on the sidelines and to actually start participating myself."

He also noted that he had observed other students who felt the same way.

"No doubt all the hype surrounding this most recent election and the viability of a young, popular candidate has increased youth participation and youth interest in politics," Werner said. "If you can find a congressman or senator who you genuinely like and respect and you think you can learn something from, then by all means, you'd be crazy not to take that opportunity."

Freshman Craig Arnzen recently completed an internship with Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.

"It wasn't your typical internship," Arnzen said. "I actually drove him around the state and was in charge of him on a day-to-day basis. Obviously, with the recent elections, it was all day every day. I put in 60-plus hours a week. There were certain days where we had like eight stops in one day."

Despite the long hours, Arnzen, a political science major, said the job gave him great experience.

"This was a good opportunity to see if this is actually worth me pursuing, and it worked out great," he said. "I loved it. An internship is entirely different than watching the news or reading the blogs."

Senior Katie Eggerman also said there are many benefits to a political internship. She is interning next semester with state Rep. Wayne Cooper, R-Camdenton, who is in his fourth and final term and serves as chairman of the Health Care Policy Committee.

"I realized I knew little about the political world and wanted to get involved first-hand and see what's happening," Eggerman said.

Eggerman, who is a biochemistry major and plans to go to medical school, was able to get an internship specifically tailored to her interests through the Civil Leaders Internship Program, which is offered at MU.

Anyone can apply as long as they have a sophomore status, which means they have at least 30 credit hours, by the time they start the internship. CLIP includes part-time and full-time internships during the school year, as well as internships over the summer. Additionally, there is an opportunity to intern in Washington while taking classes at Georgetown University or George Washington University.

"This program involves internships with all sort of government agencies and is not for profit," Barbara Willis, coordinator of the CLIP program, said. "These internships change lives, and some students end up with jobs because of them. It helps you apply what you learn in the classroom to real life, and you learn something about yourself, even if it's that you don't actually want to do what you thought you did."