I transferred to SUNY Brockport for the Fall 2023 semester – the beginning of my sophomore year – and stumbled upon this program. As program director Robert Powell will vouch, I emailed him that September to express my eager desire to join this program. Now, two years later and entering my senior year, I am departing from this program with skills, friendships, and experiences I could never have anticipated gaining.
While I will boast how wonderful this program is and how impactful my summer was, I will not lie and say it’s been easy. Following my first (official) discussions with Robert and Casey in January, I applied to nearly forty internships with little success. Out of the forty, I got two interviews. This forewarning is not to discourage anyone from doing this program; In fact, this has been the most rewarding, fulfilling and influential experience of my college career. This blurb only serves as a reminder that you may feel discouraged or beat down at some point along the way – in this specific process or life more generally – but having drive and dedication will get you far, and oftentimes, exactly where you should be.
That said, I wound up fortunate enough to have a placement with the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. The Kluge Center prides itself on bringing together the “world’s best thinkers to contribute to the conversation about the challenges facing democracies in the 21st century.” What an exciting place to be at a time like this! Not only are you working within the confines of the world’s largest library, but you are surrounded by brilliant minds emboldened by (niche, but) invaluable projects.
During my internship, I worked with two impressive individuals. My primary project was assisting a renowned journalist in embellishing her upcoming book – a narrative nonfiction on the global migration along the Pan-American highway – with primary sources evidencing evolving Western Hemispheric relations and U.S.-specific approaches to immigration and asylum. I then joined a scholar rounding out her PhD dissertation for the University of Warwick on exotic literary representations by French and Chinese authors of 1930s Shanghai.
Among the many of my transformative experiences this summer was my time spent in the Manuscripts Reading Room. Call me a nerd if you want, but you may feel differently when you’re holding original correspondence materials from Americans urging Japanese internment at the height of WWII, or speech drafts that suggest WWI could have been avoided with a “Pan European Union” modeled after the Pan-American Union.
My D.C. experience was not limited to the (beautiful) interior of the Library of Congress, however. I took my passions outside of the building and engaged in the always-hustling environment around me. I had the opportunity to connect with a program alum, now Deputy Director of Immigration Studies at the Niskanen Center, Matthew LaCorte; I attended a powerful briefing by the Cato Institute’s lead immigration scholar, David Bier; Robert accompanied me to a naturalization ceremony right at DC District Court; I joined the World Without Exploitation Youth Coalition and attended their annual Youth Summit. This only scratches the surface of the opportunities presented here; I find myself in awe that I was able to experience so much and frustrated that time caught up to me too quickly to continue experiencing more.
While I’ve gained invaluable research skills, transferable archival abilities, and rich analytical thinking, I believe my biggest takeaway this summer is the importance of developing relationships. Yes, networking is important and will get you far, but I think it can (and should!) be so much more than that. My engagement with my immigration scholar has earned me a mentor and friend – evidenced by her invitation to extend our work together into the Fall 2025 semester. My engagement with Robert and Casey has yielded a friendship with two passionate and giving individuals who I will continue my journey with as a student worker this Fall 2025 semester. Finally, my connection with fellow interns created lasting memories and relationships I feel sad to leave but so blessed to have created.
This is a long-winded way of saying – do the program. New city, new job, new people – it’s scary! – but man, if this wasn’t the most transformative summer of my life. I can confidently say my academic and career growth will long benefit from these short 10 weeks. More importantly perhaps, I can say with as much conviction that I’ve grown into a self-assured, yet constantly curious young woman as a direct result of this program.