All about the Alaska Legislative Internship Program

It was just over a year ago that I was sitting in my Intro to Natural Resource Management class when a visitor came in bearing brochures and asked to briefly talk about the University of Alaska Legislative Internship Program. This program accepts students from UAF (Fairbanks), UAA (Anchorage), and UAS (Juneau) to move to Juneau during the spring session to work for a senator or representative as an intern. This isn’t your typical internship where you might spend three months getting you boss coffee every morning. 

Instead, you are treated as a full-time staff member and have the opportunity to participate in research, tracking and moving legislation, communicating with constituents, meeting with lobbyists and other staff, and possibly drafting and managing your own piece of legislation. As an added bonus, there are often stipends awarded as well as relocation allowances. 

I was very interested, but, being a Rural Development student with very little knowledge of politics, thought it highly unlikely that I would have a chance at being selected. Despite this, I went ahead and applied in October, hoping for the best. The application was relatively simple and required a cover letter, resume, two letters of recommendation, a writing sample, and a short research paper proposal idea. 

A few weeks later I was notified that I had been accepted into the program! Ever since I received that exciting email, it has been a crazy few weeks of phone interviews with senators and representatives who are all eagerly searching for interns. There are only nine students, and 23 offices who are hoping to bring on an intern. Because of this, I was receiving 5-10 phone calls a day for about two weeks until I made my decision. 

I finally picked the office that I believe will best fit my passions and interests, and will be headed to Juneau for the Spring 2016 semester where I will receive 12 credits that will transfer back to UAF when I complete the program. I am thrilled that I have an opportunity such as this to gain first-hand experience and utilize what I have been studying for the past five semesters.

I share this experience with you to let you know that if you are looking for a school with unique opportunities that will prepare you for a career after college, then UAF may just be the school for you! There are opportunities here that you may not get anywhere else, and doors may open that you never thought would be possible. 

For some more info about the University of Alaska Legislative Internship Program, visit their website: http://www.uas.alaska.edu/internprogram/