Jayden Sarah Fogel interned at the Office of Senator Tammy Duckworth.

I am so grateful for the Illinois in Washington program and Professor Mayer. This semester has truly been one of the best experiences of my college career and life. I made amazing friends through the IIW program, my apartment building, and my internship.

The program was structured like this: I worked at my internship from 9am to 5pm Monday through Thursday, and then had two classes on Fridays. Our first class was your traditional sit-down classroom environment. Our second class allowed us to go on amazing field trips every Friday and meet some incredible people. These field trips included the Supreme Court, the National Gallery of Art, the D.C. Superior Court, the White House, Sidley Austin LLP, the Brookings Institution, the Meridian Center, and many networking lunches. Every week was an incredible and unique experience. After class, we would explore. Weekends were spent shopping at flea markets, trying new restaurants, and discovering the local treasures.

I spent the semester as an intern for the Office of Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). I worked closely with my intern coordinators, staff assistants, legislative supervisor, and fellow interns. In Senator Duckworth’s office, each intern got to request and was assigned to a legislative team. I worked with the judicial portfolio. I drafted vote recommendations and conducted research. I attended and took notes for a variety of hearings and briefings, and meetings involving interest groups and constituents. Furthermore, I managed and channeled approximately 5,000 constituent calls, voicemails, letters, and faxes throughout the entire semester. I led Capitol tours and greeted and escorted guests visiting the Senator’s Office. Additionally, I was able to perform other support activities for the office such as errands to Senate locations and creative social media tasks.

Interning in the Senate was always a dream internship, and for me, it lived up to its expectations. Senator Duckworth was always my first choice. I loved her initiatives, story, and persona. I am eternally grateful to Senator Duckworth and her incredible team; I absolutely loved working on the Hill. I loved working in the Hart Senate Office Building and being in that environment never got old. I was always excited to take the subway to the Capitol and walk through the ropes in the rotunda while on official business. I was excited every time I saw a Senator or Representative.

I got lucky when it came to finding and securing my internship. It is important to start searching and applying early. Applications for internships, like the White House, close many months before the start date. I got my offer to intern for Senator Duckworth in late October. Most of the internships I planned on applying for in the House weren’t due for another two months. I did not have any connections to Senator Duckworth’s office when I applied, but connections can definitely help when finding an internship, so networking is important.

Throughout my internship and the IIW program, I have learned so much and have made so many valuable connections with the most incredible, smart, driven people. I hope that I have the opportunity to come back to the Hill for work. The 16 weeks in the semester flew by. If I could do it again, I would in a heartbeat.