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Internships and Employment

The Political Science Department has information available on internship and career opportunities on our Facebook page. Joining is easy; confirm your email and you are ready to go!

You can also check out Lewis & Clark College’s resources at the Career Center.

Below are examples of internships that our students have completed along with what they had to say about their experiences:

Emily Tash, Class of 2021 — Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Portland, OR

“It was a great learning opportunity, the staff were so nice and willing to help, and it was really fun to be part of a campaign during an election year. You learn a lot and they will help you grow. You can also almost always do more because they always want/need more help.”

Avia Kaner-Roth, Class of 2022 — Governer’s Office of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN

“It gave me a lot of experience in a political office, and a good source of networking within an area I want to go into in the future.”

Nick Gothard, Class of 2021 — Gooditis for Delegate, Northern VA

“This internship offered me a lot of opportunities to experience the energy of a high stakes local campaign. I got the chance to be involved directly with senior staff and do more than just knock doors. The only reason my recommendation [7/10] isn’t higher is because there were significantly higher expectations than reasonable for an unpaid internship.”

Jake Sherer, Class of 2020 — Bain & Co., Minneapolis, MN

“I worked with incredibly teams who taught me a ton about business and how to work with clients, which at the end led to me getting an offer to join full time.”

Hannah Posey-Scholl, Class of 2020 — Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Washington D.C.

“It does involve routine intern work, like running a paper from office to office to be signed, and it’s not always the most intellectually stimulating experience, but if you are interested in experiencing a legislative office, this can be a fantastic experience. I especially recommend the office of Senator Wyden to anyone interested in internet policy or cybersecurity.”

Zane Dundon, Class of 2018 — UNITE HERE Local 8, Portland, OR

“Working with UNITE HERE, Local 8 was extremely interesting and rewarding. I did many different kinds of research and organizing work, and was very rarely sitting at a desk in the office. Almost every day, I spent a substantial amount of time talking to workers and union members, and met some amazing people. The work I did was challenging, but always rewarding. Unlike at some other internships, I never doubted that the work I was doing with Unite Here was important and necessary.”

Jack H. Penrod — Representative Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), Washington D.C.

“I had a wonderful learning experience as an intern in Washington. I never felt that the staff assistant or staffers assigned me with busy work which I really appreciated. Each of the various tasks that I completed, from speaking with constituents on the phone to researching legislative issues for the staffers, provided me with valuable insight about the inner workings of the House of Representatives. Although I did not particularly enjoy drafting letters, I greatly enjoyed the rest of the experience to the point I would like to pursue further work in Congress.”

Rafael Swit — Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Washington D.C.

“As an intern with Senator Merkley’s office, you’ll get the opportunity to work under a dedicated and brilliant representative and a world-class staff. You won’t be just filing papers and reading mail — Senator Merkley ensures that his staff provides interns with substantive responsibilities such as research memos and drafting responses to constituent correspondence. The staff are nice, welcoming, and relaxed compared to a typical D.C. work environment. I could not have asked for a better place to start my career in public service.”

Sari Berger, Class of 2016 — Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), San Diego, California

“I really enjoyed my internship. I liked the people I worked with, and what I was doing. More often than not the work was interesting, and I was learning and doing new things most days. I gained skills needed to work in an office as well as communication skills. Part of the job was research, which gave me the opportunity to learn new things about unusual topics. As first person in line of contact for those who called the office, I got to interact with interesting people and learn about how people felt on the political issues of the day. There were some portions of the work that were low-end-of-totem-pole jobs, and if you cannot handle listening to people who fundamentally disagree with you this job is not a good fit, but overall I think it was a good position, and would recommend it.”

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