Students from across the College of Liberal Arts and Temple University as a whole recall how their political internships in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania helped them build valuable experience for launching their careers.

Angel Betancourt, CLA ’19, didn’t wait until graduation last month to start looking for a job. He started that work by networking in a couple internships he had in the Pennsylvania Senate beginning last summer. It all paid off when he landed a full-time job while still a student.

Tony Perry, CLA ’12, became Middletown, N.J.’s youngest mayor ever earlier this year at just 28 years old. The political science major credits his College of Liberal Arts’ professors’ real-world lessons and push for him to get an internship with setting him up for his career.

Each semester, the College of Liberal Arts sends students to Washington D.C. where they work in full-time, credited internships in the world of politics or public policy while earning full-time credits as students. Find out what some of their experiences were like in spring 2019.

A recent policy brief from the Center on Regional Politics, “A Tale of Haves and Have-Nots,” forecasts the fiscal future for all 500 school districts in PA for the period 2017-18 through 2021-22. The brief projects budget shortfalls for almost 300 districts, requiring them to reduce expenditures through program cuts or raise additional revenue.