Above and beyond: the White House Internship

In early March last year when I heard about the White House Internship Program, I did not give serious thought to applying. Surely, I had shared in the excitement of President Obama’s historic election, but my first impression was that the program was geared towards students pursuing a career in politics, which I was not.

And so, when friends were gathering recommendations for their applications, I did not do the same.

But as the March 22 application deadline neared, my perspective changed. During Spring Break, my oldest sister called me. She was checking that I was applying to the internship. “Yes, of course…” I assured her.

In my family I have always been regarded as a star—a child of Jamaican immigrants who won a full scholarship to Columbia University. My sister had reminded me that my family had high hopes in me. I could not disappoint them, and moreover, I could not disappoint myself. I had strong leadership and work experience and was a competitive candidate for the program. A close friend had been encouraging me to apply all along. I felt silly for disregarding a chance to apply to the most prestigious of internships.

Just seconds before the midnight deadline on March 22, I submitted my application packet: a general form, three essays, three recommendations, my resume, and my transcript.

And then, along with other applicants, I held my breath for a response.

On April 17, the White House called me for an interview. It was refreshingly pleasant.

On April 24, the White House notified me of my acceptance. I alerted my family and friends in excitement.

As the internship is unpaid and summer is a critical time for me to earn money, I had to undergo a fundraising campaign in order to participate in the internship. I distributed a letter to nearly every administrator at Columbia, professors, alumni, friends, politicians, and various organizations.

After a tiresome effort, I was lucky enough to secure housing in D.C. and some funding from private sponsors. In late July, I received a grant from Columbia College. Though grateful for the grant, I left the experience wanting the University to provide stronger, timelier support for students with financial need who were accepted to such programs in the future. These opportunities should be a reality for everyone.

May 22 marked the first day of the White House Internship Program. Over 6,000 people had applied and a little over 100 were accepted. Most interns were older than me—recent college graduates, graduate students, and former officers of the armed forces. But our commitment to leadership, public service, and the mission of the Obama Administration united us.

I served in the Office of Presidential Personnel, which oversees the selection of the thousands of presidential appointments, including Cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, and ambassadors. It lasted 12 weeks, with 50 hours or more a week of exhausting work. And I, ever the workaholic, loved every second. I even stayed for a 13th week.

One of the first things that senior White House officials told interns was that if one day we arrived to work and did not feel lucky to be there, then we should turn around and leave. Everyone—members of my office, senior officials, the first lady—underlined the significance and brevity of any president’s term and the need to make the most of every moment of this great opportunity.

And so I decided to milk every moment.

I made sure to ask questions during our weekly speaker series with senior White House officials, most notably with Vice President Biden and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and I won the chance to introduce one of the speakers. I met with members of my office and those in other offices. I e-mailed thank you notes expressing my desires to stay in contact with people. I arranged White House tours for my family and friends as well as a bowling night.

Most importantly, I led a team of interns that won a book drive competition, collecting and delivering over 14,000 books to organizations across the United States and abroad. As the winners, my team met President Obama in an intimate setting. Just a week later, I managed to shake the President’s hand for a second time at another event.

I highlight these moments not to brag—I am a Columbia student like everyone else—but to demonstrate that even when people are in an environment with innumerable opportunities, not everyone chooses to take advantage of them. At the beginning of the internship, a senior White House official told interns that the summer would be what we made of it, whether we were serious about our office work and got to know people or not. And he was right.

Similarly, at Columbia, one of the leading universities in the world, not everyone takes advantage of chances to get to know professors, gain professional and leadership experience, and other opportunities. Many students do not do more than go to classes. I do not mean to demonize anyone; Columbia’s academic life is hard enough. I mean to demonstrate that out of any crowd, only a few will go above and beyond. This realization is what really pushed me to apply to the White House Internship Program.

The deadline for the Summer 2010 internship is February 7, 2010. The application will be up on the White House Web site on December 14, 2009. The only catch is that you must be a U.S. citizen, which disqualifies many Columbia students. Still, with a Columbian leading the White House, there has never been a more exciting time to apply.

The author is a Columbia College junior majoring in sociology. She is the president and founder of the African Diasporic Literary Society.