(U-WIRE) SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah student Mike Maggio, who graduated in communication, skipped flipping burgers this summer and took an internship in Washington, D.C.

An intern at Walt Disney World last summer, Maggio traded his apron and toque for a business suit and switched from long hours in a kitchen to days doing for some of the most influential people in the capital.

“I was hesitant to do an internship again,” said the Illinois native, who works at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. “Being in D.C. has been awesome.”

Each semester, the Hinckley Institute of Politics sends about 30 University of Utah students to Washington. Founded in 1965 to encourage student involvement in politics, the institute of politics matches applicants with interested organizations. Several state legislators and national figures, such as Karl Rove – the current senior political adviser in the Bush administration – had their first taste of Washington through Hinckley internships.

Since internship wages are low – some do not pay at all – and living expenses are high in the capital, serving in Washington would be out of reach to many University of Utah students without the Hinckley Institute. To make the experience accessible to more students, the institute of politics subsidizes non-paying internships with a modest stipend.

It also rents eight apartments in Alexandria, Va. Four interns share an apartment and each pays $125 per month to the institute of politics, which pays $1450 per month for each apartment.

The internship opportunities also extend to students outside of the political arena. Being the heart of decision-making, Washington is a mecca for political think tanks, special interest groups and the media. In addition, firms have plenty of work waiting for eager college students.
Hailey Johansen, a senior in communications, works at GOPTV — a branch of the Republican National Committee that provides television content to the media.

Johansen started out doing clerical work, such as operating the TelePrompTer and making copies of documents, but soon gained more responsibilities. The assignment manager was promoted, and Johansen took over many of her previous duties.

In her new job, Johansen searches through the newswire and media advisories faxed to her and selects events worth covering. Then she assigns the necessary resources, including cameramen, studio time and satellite feed. When the edited tape is ready, Johansen writes the summary and sends them to television stations across the country.

“It’s better to have work experience as well as classroom experience,” said Johansen, who is pursuing a career relating to public relations. As a result of her internship experience, Johansen was offered a job in Senator Orrin Hatch’s office, which she starts next month in Salt Lake City.

However, work at internships is usually a mixed bag. Many of the tasks are tedious, unglamorous and avoided by the regular staff, but some employers try to assign rewarding work that will give the interns a preview of the profession.

Cassidi Baddley works in a two-story house converted into an office near DuPont Circle. Medical Care Development International writes proposals on how to spend humanitarian grants in third-world countries. One of the tasks assigned to the intern is cataloging the racks of literature.

“Basically, I’m a librarian,” said Baddley, a senior in marketing. In between running errands and “parenthetical work,” Baddley helps the staff with research by finding articles — sometimes at the Library of Congress. A recent project required her to locate all existing hospitals and clinics in Tanzania.

When asked whether her internship experience has been valuable, Baddley answered, “not really,” but the time at the small non-profit MCDI did make her re-evaluate her career goals.

“It showed me a lot about what I don’t and do want in a job,” said Baddley, who returned to her job at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City. “I didn’t place much emphasis on corporate culture, management style and organization structure (before the internship). I didn’t think about that as important.

“I don’t think I would want to work in D.C.,” Baddley continued. “A lot of people are overqualified (here). There are people with law degrees who are editing letters.”

Even if the work can get dull, most of the interns don’t seem to mind because the excitement of living in the capital more than makes up for the daily grind. Filled with restaurants, clubs, museums and cultural events, Utah students find life in this big city a welcome change.

Washington is also near many other metropolitan centers, so interns make obligatory weekend trips to Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City.

Having decided that she wanted to move to Washington, Lorraine Foster started interviewing immediately after arriving for her internship. Foster accepted an offer to work at Gray Hawk Systems – a Virginia information technology provider – after her current internship.

Foster plans to share an apartment with another former intern in the same Alexandria apartment complex she lives in now. Her share of rent will increase to $600 per month without the Hinckley Institute subsidy.
It all made her appreciate the opportunity that the institute of politics has given her.

“(The University of Utah) is one of few schools that pay interns,” Foster said. “Hinckley gave a lot of money to (the) school. I don’t think the interns appreciate it.”

Robert H. Hinckley founded the institute of politics after starting the Hinckley Dodge car dealership and serving 20 years of public service in Washington. His endowment and other private donations continue to support the institute of politics today.

– Alex Lee, Daily Utah Chronicle (University of Utah)