The NZUS Council recently had the pleasure of hearing from our talented returning interns about their transformative journey at Capitol Hill from late 2023 to early 2024.
Hailing from the University of Canterbury, law student Emily Speirs was placed in the Office for Congressman Darrell Issa. On her experience Emily said:
“My office was very generous in that they let me get involved in pretty much every aspect of the work they did. I worked closely with our Foreign Affairs Advisor, our Press Secretaries and our Legislative Advisors on pretty much every area of legislation we worked on.
“It was a fantastic experience to watch the process of lawmaking up close and I enjoyed that I was given the chance to work so closely on real legislation and bills. One of these bills was a full revamp of the passport system and I was even able to join the congressman and our staffers at interviews with various media outlets, which was fascinating and a lot of fun.”
Emily’s feedback highlights the purpose of our internship programme – fostering talent, nurturing passion, and empowering future leaders in trans-Pacific relations.