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Fifteen students and three alumni attending graduate school recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to learn about careers in the nation’s capital and gain networking contacts among alumni.
Held March 26, the event was sponsored by Kirby Government & Law Society and hosted by the Washington, D.C. Alumni Chapter. Students arrived the previous afternoon to take advantage of a full day of activities.
Dyan Argento’05 (Pittsburgh, Pa.), a double major in history and German, led planning of the event as president of Kirby Government and Law Society. The trip helped prepare her for the summer internship she will serve at the Office of Homeland Security.
“Every person there handed out business cards,” she says. “I’ve already been in contact with a few of them about where I’ll be living about meeting with them. It was helpful to know that when I’m down there this summer, I’ll have a support system that I can use. It’s nice to know that there are people willing to help me out.”
The main purpose of the event is for students to gain networking contacts that provide possibilities for internships and jobs after graduation, notes Neil Englehart, assistant professor of government and law and adviser to Kirby Government and Law Society. Students also get a sense of what it’s like to work in Washington, he adds.
The first session, a “Careers on Capitol Hill” panel, featured Amy Spanbauer ’98, working in the office of Congressman Jim Gibbons (NV); Lindsey Lammert Radley ’02, Congressman Rick Larsen (WA); Amy Emerick ’03, Congressman Raúl Grijalva (AZ); Michael R. Higdon ’99, Congressman Hal Rogers (KY); Brian Sklar ’97, General Accounting Office; and Josh O’Harra ’97, Congressional Budget Office.
Next, seven alumni talked about “Lobbying from the Lobbyist’s Perspective”: Shawn Coughlin ’87, Capitol Health Group; Peter Jacoby ’81, AT&T; Chris Caine ’78, IBM; Wendy Parker ’93, Advance PCS; Peter Holran ’88, Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates; Mike Merola ’92, Winning Strategies; and Rachel Carr ’99, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
The day also included a tour of the Capitol and lunch hosted by Laura Reilly ’94 of Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP. Jen Gibbs ’02, special assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney’s deputy chief of staff, met with the Lafayette group at the White House, where the visit included talks by Jim Howe, special adviser, Homeland Security, and Dean McGrath, deputy chief of staff to Cheney.