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This summer Brendan Cunningham ’15 is interning with the re-election campaign for Rep. Steve Israel of New York’s 3rd Congressional District on Long Island. Israel has served in the House of Representatives since 2001 and currently chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Although politicians sometimes get a bad rap, many are devoted to combating social injustices, as Matthew Creeden ’16 has discovered this summer. Creeden, an economics and government double major, is interning at EMILY’s List. EMILY’s List is a political action committee (PAC) in Washington, D.C., that helps elect pro-choice Democratic women to office, as Creeden explained.

While terrorism is typically thought of as a foreign attack, its roots can just as easily be domestic. Combatting terrorism requires diligence, proactiveness and positive detection, major goals for the Department of Homeland Security. This summer Vince DiCindio ’15, a world politics major with a concentration in international security, is an intern with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), with support from the Eckman Fund.

Jonah Feitelson ’15, with funding from the Summer Internship Support Fund established in 2005 by John G. Rice ’78, is interning this summer at the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) in New York City. NESRI is a non-profit organization that promotes movements for what it deems essential social and economic rights, including education, healthcare and housing.

Although the term “America” is often used to mean “the United States of America,” there is much more to America than our 50 states. Maggie Joyce ’16, a world politics major with a concentration on Latin America, is interning at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) in Washington, D.C., to promote precisely that idea.

Few Americans have the chance to really get to know their representatives in Congress. Thomas Funk ’15, who completed his second internship this summer with Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, is an exception. He worked at her congressional office in Washington D.C. and received funding from the Joseph F. Anderson ’44 internship fund to live in the capital city.

This summer, Abigail Armstrong ’15 interned with the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women (MCSW), an organization dedicated to providing a permanent and effective voice for women across the state.  The organization meets with legislators, endorses legislation and holds public hearings on topics related to women and the issues they face in today’s society.  Armstrong participated in the MCSW’s advocacy for fundamental freedoms and promoting women’s basic human rights, freedom and equality.

Adriana Fracchia ’14 spent last summer in Pachio Amos, Greece, assisting in an archaeological excavation and producing topographical maps of the site, an ancient village on the island of Crete. While in Greece, her interest was piqued in the Golden Dawn, a controversial political group. This summer she's researching the rising power of the Golden Dawn.

Throughout the academic year, members of the Hamilton College Democrats keep themselves busy campaigning, organizing events and discussing current political issues at their bi-weekly meetings. This summer, many of them have channeled their energies into internships at a number of impressive political organizations and government agencies across the country. Three College Democrats in particular, Jeff Sobotko ’14, Fiona Wissell ’15, and Keara Fenzel ’14 have spent the summer gaining valuable professional skills and exploring their unique career interests first-hand.

In speeches and debates, contemporary politicians often relate their values back to the principles of America’s founding fathers. However, how well they actually represent those ideals is disputable. In her Emerson Foundation project, “What Would Jefferson Do? The Jeffersonian Ideal and Modern Day Environmental Policy,” Claire Zurlo ’14 is examining how Thomas Jefferson’s political philosophy relates to today’s environmentalism.