Students Find D.C. Programs a Capital Idea
By Emily Harrison Weir
...................
|
When Smith women say they're "going away" to study, it usually
means jetting off to Paris, Geneva, Florence or Hamburg. But each fall two
dozen students broaden their world without going abroad, through Smith-sponsored
programs in our nation's capital.
The Picker and Smithsonian internship programs offer opportunities to juniors
and seniors that are otherwise unavailable. During fall semester, Smith
interns in D.C. were declared "essential personnel" at the White
House; conducted independent research with world-class resources in every
building on the block; played a Stradivarius cello; attended Senate subcommittee
meetings; gawked at a life-size model of a blue whale; networked with Smith
alumnae; discovered the "joys" of cooking, cleaning and paying
bills; greeted President Clinton on the way to work; and uncovered "lost"
letters from a famous ancestor...among other activities.
The Jean Picker Semester-in-Washington Program began in the
early 1970s when government professors Donald Robinson and the late Thomas
Jahnige hit on the then-rare idea of fusing experience and reflection in
an internship. Now directed by government professor Donald Baumer, the highly
competitive program attracts mostly government and economics majors. Students
intern in congressional offices; the White House; "think tanks"
such as the Institute for Policy Studies and the Institute of World Politics;
and in nongovernmental groups such as the Organization of Chinese Americans,
the Delegation of the European Union, the Public Defender Service and the
Korea Economic Institute. The program is named for Jean S. Picker '42, a
former Smith trustee and longtime member of the U.S. Mission to the United
Nations, who endowed the internship program in 1971.
Baumer says the program's original concept is still valid: "Students
learn a lot more about national government when they see it close up and
on a daily basis. It's for those who want to go beyond the classroom experience."
Colleen Sellers '97 certainly had a semester impossible to duplicate on
any campus. Sellers worked at the National Economic Council, where she saw
its director-Laura D'Andrea Tyson '69-several times a day. While Sellers
was distributing documents to staffers or heading for a national budget
meeting, she might pass George Stephanopoulos, Leon Panetta or the president
himself on the stairs. "I don't do a lot, but I see a lot," she
said last fall. "I've been amazed by how hard everyone works and how
much they care about their work. I'm learning how to always be on your toes
by watching people like Laura Tyson. That's how I want to be."
From her White House office, Sellers saw both government action and inaction.
When the federal government shut down temporarily during a budget crisis,
some interns-including Sellers-were deemed "essential personnel"
and continued working while permanent staff took a furlough. For a few days,
the Los Angeles Times reported, senior staff and unpaid interns were essentially
running the White House. "The shutdown let me see parts of the process
I normally wouldn't have seen, since interns had to do everything the staff
usually does," says Sellers. "The 18-hour days were tiring, but
in retrospect it was a great experience." Not all the Pickers have
such dramatic stories to report, but all get immersed in the daily business
of the nation.
Like the Picker Program, the Smithsonian Internship Program exposes students
to top national institutions and apprentices them to leading professionals
in their fields. With 140 million artifacts in 16 museums and galleries
and numerous research facilities, the Smithsonian Institution is a big draw
for Smith students, especially American studies majors. And Smith women
receive a truly unique experience there. "Some of the other interns
already have their master's degrees," observes Melissa Naulin '97,
"and I haven't met any other undergraduates working here." That's
because there aren't any others. Although Stanford, Yale, Amherst and other
prestigious institutions have asked to send students, only Smith undergraduates
are accepted as Smithsonian Institution interns. Donald Robinson, founder
and director of the Smithsonian Internship Program, says former Smith trustee
Charles Blitzer personally arranged exclusive access for Smith in 1979,
when he was the Smithsonian's assistant secretary.
Learning on the Job
Since students earn academic credit for both programs, interns must write
a substantial research paper and participate in a seminar in addition to
their internship duties. "Working nine to five and doing a huge paper
and a seminar makes me very busy," said Megan Lambert '97. "I'm
busy at Smith, too, but here you have to structure your time a lot more."
Smithies handle these responsibilities well, according to Marc Pachter,
who is counselor to the secretary of the Smithsonian and teaches the seminar
on 20th-century American biography. "I am consistently amazed at the
quality of Smith undergraduates," he says. "They have a real seriousness
of purpose and bring a commitment to discussing the questions we're dealing
with." Rob Hauck, deputy executive director of the American Political
Science Association and leader of the Picker seminar on political change,
agrees. "Smith women are really extraordinary in their ability to synthesize
the material and raise intelligent and very provocative questions,"
he says.
Although students attend a weekly seminar and meet periodically with their
Smith program director, most of the academic work isn't due until December.
This causes a mad rush at semester's end but frees students to concentrate
on their internships all fall. Julie Rosson Small '82, alumna coordinator
for both programs, says most of the women "get so immersed in their
jobs that they talk as if they're on staff in their offices. Don Baumer
and I always laugh because it's so hard to schedule his meetings with students.
I'll try to set a date and students will say, 'Oh, I can't possibly meet
during the day!' They become so involved in their internships that sometimes
they forget the part they have to do."
And the internship experiences do seem engrossing.
- ·Junior Heather Sullivan researched the life and work of African-American
film pioneer Oscar Micheaux, a process she describes as detective work.
"I have a passion for what I'm studying now, and this independent
project has let me try out a graduate-school atmosphere," she said.
- Working at the White House scheduling and advance office last year,
senior Laura Hansen became the first intern ever to go aloft in Night Hawk
II, the presidential staff and press helicopter. As the 1995 student coordinator,
Hansen didn't promise every Picker such an uplifting experience, but she
did help them get settled in their new positions.
- At the National Museum of American History, Elena Rivellino '96 looked
at stereotyped ethnic images in greeting cards and traced how ethnic foods
become part of the American mainstream diet.
- Rachel Ledford '97 got the chance of a lifetime at a lecture on the
significance of a Stradivarius cello. When she asked a question, she was
invited to play the $6 million instrument. "I hadn't practiced in
months," she said, "but I've never sounded so good in my life!"
- Anne Sippel '96, interning in the vice president's domestic policy
office, helped prepare Vice President Al Gore's daily briefing book. Using
printed and computer resources, she collected information about hot issues
in the areas of the country where he would be traveling.
- "Having absolute access to all these primary documents has been
great," said junior Eleanor Curry. Examining the records of the Smithsonian's
first chief archivist led her to ponder 19th-century conceptions of institutional
history.
About the only complaint students have about the programs is that it's hard
to get enough attention from their ultra-busy bosses. Rachel Ledford, for
example, said hers "has been a really good mentor when he has the time,
but I have to be vigilant about finding time to talk with him." Still,
Ledford is pleased with her semester's work in the Smithsonian Institution's
labor history collection. "One reason I chose Smith was to go on the
Smithsonian program, and I'm living the intern high life now," she
said. (This means Ledford had her own office, computer and phone.) Her preliminary
guide to the labor history collection was distributed at a professional
conference. And instead of having just one professor read and grade her
work, the fruits of her semester's research will be viewed by thousands
as part of two exhibitions on labor history at the National Museum of American
History.
As if juggling an internship, study and research isn't enough, students
also have all of Washington, D.C. to tempt them away from work. Junior Shawn
Thompson's reaction is typical. "I go to the museums as much as I can
and wander into exhibits about things I normally wouldn't take a class in,"
she said. "Washington is really interesting and I love having the resources
available. I just wish I had more time." Thompson-who has always lived
in small towns-added, "Getting some 'street smarts' through exposure
to a city is also a good idea."
When New York City native Liz Kennedy '97 arrived in Washington, she admits
thinking, "You call this a city?" but she has since come to appreciate
it. "And this is the first time I've had my own apartment, so I've
learned a lot in terms of life." All four women in Melissa Naulin's
apartment were 19, and it was their first time living on their own. "It's
been a good eye-opening experience," Naulin said. "And now that
I've gotten into a routine of cooking for myself, paying rent and utility
bills and so on, it seems funny to think of going back to Smith and having
all my meals cooked for me."
Making Contact
Despite handling more independence than most are used to, students aren't
just cast adrift in D.C. Alumna coordinator Julie Rosson Small helps them
locate appropriate internships and find affordable housing before arriving
in the city. Later, she organizes pizza parties and other get-togethers.
And each year Small rounds up young alums to tell current students how they
turned Smith degrees into Washington careers. "Students seem to like
it, and they make contacts for the future," she says. Although a full-time
mom now, Small has plenty of government contacts from the eight years she
worked as a congressional press secretary and legislative correspondent
following her own Picker internship. "Many interns end up in Washington
after graduation, partly because they have such a good semester here,"
she explains. "That's what happened to me."
Because lots of Smith women catch "Potomac fever" while in D.C.,
current interns have plenty of alumnae contacts in this city where influence
rules. At least two dozen Smith grads work just on Capitol Hill, according
to a networking list kept by Clare Coleman '92, legislative assistant to
Representative Charles Schumer. Coleman got her first job on the Hill after
Agnes Bundy '79 connected her with other alumnae there. Now she shares network
lists and strategies with interns during a career night. "I make sure
students are aware that this is a great place to work and that Smith women
on the Hill are looking for new Smith women to give jobs to," says
Coleman.
Career Catalysts
But even the best contacts can't replace the hands-on work an internship
provides. Anne Sippel sees "real-world experience" as the Picker
Program's greatest advantage. "I came here planning to love it, to
make all sorts of connections and to come right back after graduation. All
that went just as planned. This is my senior year, so I'll be back in a
matter of months," she said. "And it's exciting to realize that
most of the junior staff recently hired in the vice president's office have
been former interns."
"Having the Smithsonian experience on my résumé, I've
heard, helps tremendously in getting jobs after graduation," adds Shawn
Thompson. "It shows I'm a serious student." She's considering
a high-school teaching career and says using primary sources will help her
bring life to future history lessons. "I could use a case study to
explain a point so that we're talking about real people and real experiences,"
she says.
"I've been fascinated by the Smithsonian Institution since I was small,"
says senior Kalia Edmonds, who often visited relatives in nearby Alexandria,
Virginia. "The internship was a way to finally find out more about
the Smithsonian and how exhibits are created," she explains. "I
wanted to conduct my own research, explore the size and scope of the Smithsonian,
and take advantage of everything Washington has to offer." When she
had time, Edmonds also revisited Smithsonian Institution sites she enjoyed
as a girl (one favorite was the life-size blue whale model at the National
Museum of Natural History).
Practical experience is especially crucial in highly competitive fields.
"Museum work is very difficult to get into, and the Smithsonian program
offers a way to get started and build a résumé at the country's
leading museum," says Don Robinson. Eleanor Curry, a Smithsonian archives
intern, said, "I hadn't considered museum work before this, but a lot
of my conceptions about archives and museums have been blown out of the
water. Everyone here is young and enthusiastic about their work, and the
archives is actually a very dynamic place."
Many interns find that the semester in D.C. increases their career options.
A Picker participant last year, Katie Barras '96 feared her interest in
law school could lead only to a career in litigation. But after her internship
with the D.C. Superior Court's family mediation program, Barras discovered
that "there are many other ways to use a law degree that focus less
on the combative win/lose scenario of our current legal system." Similarly,
Megan Lambert's semester solidified her career plans. "I always knew
I'd go to law school but didn't know in what field. Now I want to be a public
defender," she says. "And the internship has been good for networking
because I've come into contact with a lot of organizations in which I'll
apply for jobs after graduation."
Lambert's internship with the Rainbow Coalition meshed well with her double
major in government and Afro-American studies. Lambert monitored affirmative
action legislation as well as researching and editing part of a weekly publication
for coalition members. She also covered press conferences, went to Senate
hearings and met with civil rights leaders. "It's been exciting to
take my academic experience and put all that book knowledge to work,"
she said. Her boss, Hilary Weinstein '86, said Lambert "has been an
incredible help to us at the Rainbow Coalition. Megan's education at Smith
was a great foundation, and she hit the ground running as soon as she got
here."
Government major Liz Kennedy said her internship for the Senate Subcommittee
on Children, Families, Drugs and Alcoholism "fits with the overall
arc of my life, since I've always planned to work in government and I've
gotten to see what that entails. It's given me a clearer picture of what
I want to do in the future." She's considering both legislative-
assistant work on the Hill and a more grass-roots approach at a nonprofit
organization, with law school thrown into the mix of possibilities.
And that's really what the Picker and Smithsonian programs are all about:
expanding students' understanding-and aspirations-to encompass the many
possibilities Washington life offers.
|
