{"id":85260,"date":"2018-09-26T13:22:41","date_gmt":"2018-09-26T23:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=85260"},"modified":"2020-01-15T15:58:34","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T01:58:34","slug":"political-internship-program-manoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2018\/09\/26\/political-internship-program-manoa\/","title":{"rendered":"Political internship program provides rare opportunity for UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa students"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Mazie Hirono and Chelsea Cobb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa<\/a> graduate Chelsea Cobb<\/strong> received a full-time, paid internship in the office of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono in the spring 2016 semester. She now works in the Washington D.C. office of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> U.S. Senator Brian Schatz as a legislative correspondent.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a crazy, awesome opportunity for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> kids to get to do this,” said Cobb, who graduated from UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa in 2016 after graduating from Island Pacific Academy in 2012. She credits the M\u0101noa Political Internships<\/a> program for her position at Schatz\u02bbs office.<\/p>\n

The internships offer a rare opportunity to gain experience in the inner workings of state and federal government and contribute.<\/p>\n

“The target students are often thought of as political science students, but in fact, we have students from all over the social sciences, family studies in CTAHR<\/abbr>, history, philosophy, English, social work and occasionally biology,” said Lawrence Nitz<\/strong>, director of the M\u0101noa Political Internships program. “There is no discipline at M\u0101noa that is not affected by both federal and state legislation.”<\/p>\n

Cobb says her time in Senator Hirono\u02bbs office was invaluable.<\/p>\n

“I had a really positive experience and I learned a lot about the legislative process in general.” said Cobb. “I learned how complex the issues are here in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and throughout the country. I learned that one person can really improve the lives of people.”<\/p>\n

Accepting applications<\/h2>\n

The M\u0101noa Political Internships program is now accepting applications for the spring 2019 semester for 20 full-time, paid internships at the U.S. Congress, offices of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Judicial system and the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Legislature. Seniors, juniors and sophomores, who will have junior standing in spring 2019, are eligible to apply. The deadline for applications is October 15, 2018 with the interviews beginning the following week.<\/p>\n

In the spring 2019 semester, there are four internships in D.C. congressional offices, positions in the Public Defender and Honolulu Prosecutor’s offices, a position in the Governor and Lieutenant Governor’s offices and 10 positions in the state Legislature. On a part-time basis, four internships in Honolulu congressional offices carry a small stipend. The full-time D.C. internships cover tuition, housing and transportation. The full-time local internships cover tuition and some incidentals.<\/p>\n

For more information visit the M\u0101noa Political Internships<\/a> website or contact Kai Noa Lilly<\/strong> the M\u0101noa Political Internship coordinator at (808) 956-7858 or lilly@hawaii.edu<\/a> and Lawrence Nitz<\/strong> at (808) 956-8665 or lnitz@hawaii.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

—By Sarah Hendrix<\/em><\/p>\n