Prestigious Internship + DC... topic advice? Forum

[ltrutledge]

Hello all,

I've been in DC for the past few months living and interning and now I'm thinking about my personal statement. I know I want to use my law degree/MPP (which I would obtain in a joint program) to go into public service. I've had some really great internships that are impressive outside of DC, but I'm not sure how impressive the one I want to write about is inside the beltway. I've interned for my Rep (no big deal here), my Senator (still kind of ehhh), and this summer I'm doing one of those internships that I'm not allowed to talk about until it's over for national security reasons... but let's just say 7000 applied and 140 of us were picked and I have to have super secret security clearance.

My top two schools are GW and GULC. I would think that Congressional intern applicants are a dime a dozen here, so I'd really want to focus on my "public service leadership" internship. Since GW and GULC see so many politico junkies (I assume), how do you think they would feel about me writing about my experience once it's over? And what angle should I take when writing? Public service? The really cool things I get to do? I feel like I'm starting from a very unoriginal point here with "I LOVE POLITICS AND WANT TO COME TO YOUR SCHOOL B/C IT'S IN DC." Help spicing it up?

EDIT:

Now that I'm thinking about it, I was thinking of something like this: (my program focuses on public service as well as DC experience):

1) start off writing about how it was really cool to listen to (prestigious public official) give the speech I wrote for him in (prestigious public place) and all the awesome stuff i get to do.
2) talk about how immediately after that, the other interns and i go to our service projects (vary from teaching english to native spanish speakers, working at a food bank, teaching camps at the Y etc)
3) talk about the amazing discrepancy of starting the day surrounded by dc's glitterati in a full suit and ending it with being sweaty and dirty in the not so great parts of DC
4) hello public service/law school/I REALLY WANT TO DO YOUR JOINT DEGREE PROGRAM transition

thoughts?

[D-ROCCA]

Best not to talk about your super secret internship, we wouldn't want you accidentally leaking national secrets to the Ruskies would we...check out intern appreciation week it may be right up your alley
--LinkRemoved--

[ltrutledge]

Hahahahaha. That was great. I especially loved this part:

"Interns must show “proof of internship” (A pay stub? Ha Ha, no. Maybe that nifty red badge, or evidence of their recently contracted STD?) in order to get the InternsROCK wristband that will qualify them for the discounts. That’s right, we said wristband. As if it wasn’t already easy enough to know who is an intern, it just got exponentially easier. Though we hope the wristband is removable or that they can at least get more than one, as it will probably get all moldy and gross in the DC humidity. INTERNS: PLEASE wash the area around your wristband."

Having been here for a few intern cycles, I can absolutely confirm that summer "Hillterns" (as we call them) are the worst. I always hid my red badge of shame...