Tenth Dems interns with US Sen. Mark Begich
Highland Park, IL. – The Tenth Congressional District Democrats (“Tenth Dems”) is now accepting applications for its Summer Internship Program. Internships are available to high school juniors and seniors, college undergraduates, and graduate or law students. Numerous former interns have gone on to professional political careers in Washington, D.C., or currently staff national nonprofit organizations.
The 2012 campaign makes this the perfect time to complete a political internship. General assignments include door-to-door canvassing with candidates, work in campaign offices, and staffing of events and issue forums. Specialized assignments are also available in the areas of research, new media, IT management, and political outreach. In the past, interns have staffed Tenth Dems events featuring then-state legislator, and now President, Barack Obama, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, former Presidential nominee George McGovern, Governor and Presidential candidate Howard Dean, and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, as well as numerous Illinois state and local elected officials. The program offers interns a great degree of flexibility to tailor their responsibilities to their interests.
Acceptance into the program is selective and generally contingent upon an interview. Applicants should submit a brief paragraph explaining why they are seeking the internship, along with a resume outlining their educational background and activities. (Neither need be formal.) Although the internships are unpaid educational volunteer positions, course credit is readily available with cooperating high schools and colleges. Summer interns are expected to commit sixteen to twenty hours per week. The organization is particularly interested in applicants with web administration and/or data management skills.
The work that interns do has long been appreciated and recognized. At a recent fundraiser, keynote speaker Senator Mark Begich of Alaska noted with pleasure the presence of 2011 summer interns. Naming the event as one of the most well-organized functions he had ever attended, he called their presence particularly exciting “because the future rests not with us but with young people, especially those here.”
The Illinois Tenth Congressional District Democrats is a volunteer group with members from all parts of the 10th Congressional District. The 10th District contains portions of both Cook and Lake Counties stretching from Winnetka through Zion and from Lake Michigan west through Round Lake. The District includes all or part of the following townships: Avon, Benton, Deerfield, Grant, Libertyville, Moraine, Shields, Waukegan, West Deerfield, Vernon, Zion and parts of Fremont, Lake Villa, Maine, New Trier, Newport, Northfield, Warren, and Wheeling. Inquiries may be directed to Rian Watt, Intern Coordinator, at rianwatt@tenthdems.org or Lauren Beth Gash, Chair, at laurenbethgash@gmail.com.
