Last week 24 CSUN students were celebrated for their accomplishments as their fellow colleagues and professors gathered in Sierra Hall’s Whitsett Room to greet and congratulate them on their recently completed internship in Washington, D.C. as a part of the Cal State DC Internship Program.

Since 2006, the Cal State DC Program has given students the opportunity to spend a semester studying and working in the world of politics in our nation’s capital. Through the program, CSUN’s students were enrolled in full-time academic college credit units on site, from courses taught by and supervised by CSU faculty. These courses are designed to help students get the most out of their experience in Washington while still progressing toward graduation.

The internship opportunities included, but were not limited to, working at congressional offices, executive agencies, with political parties, advocacy groups, non-profit organizations, foreign embassies, museums and lobby firms for issues ranging from the homeless to international finance, defense and intelligence agencies.

The program had originally only accepted students who were political science majors, but within the last two semesters allowed all CSU juniors, seniors and graduate students in good standing to apply. The minimum GPA required for admission to the program is a 3.0, however, the CSUN students present showed rigorous academic standings in addition to strong references and relevant experiences and activities.

Led by Lawrence Becker, the CSUN Political Science Department Chair, the students were able to go around the room and share their experiences with everyone present. Their professors and other past Internship Program alumni watched with pride as the students regaled the room with their anecdotes of hard assimilations to the East Coast, in particular the weather. The CSUN campus and the sunny California weather were sorely missed.

In spite of the drastic weather changes, the students were extremely thankful to the department for allowing them the opportunity to experience a life outside of the CSUN community. The graduating students present were pleasantly surprised when they were awarded a special honorary red, white and blue cord to represent their participation and successful completion of the program.

For more information about the Cal State DC Internship Program please visit http://dcinterns.fullerton.edu.