Washington Semester offers range of internships in the nation's capital

One of the many appeals of participating in the Lutheran College Washington Semester program is the opportunity it offers students to work in a professional environment that is directly applicable to their major.

Eight Roanoke College students are participating in the program this fall semester. They have a variety of majors and minors, leading to a uniquely diverse group of internship opportunities, including one at the Smithsonian Institution.

Liesl Greider ’21, a history major and a member of the Honors program, is working at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Her job in the museum’s Department of Home and Community Life entails photographing an education collection with over 2,000 objects, updating web labels for the Smithsonian’s website, cataloguing historical objects and writing posts for the museum’s blog.

Her first, "Illustrating Ichabod," was appropriately posted on Halloween.

“Every day is a little different and I’m really enjoying the work that I do at this museum, where interns are truly valued and appreciated,” she said, describing her experience at the museum. “Everyone is always looking for ways to help us grow, and boy have I grown as a result of that!”

Being immersed in Washington, D.C. means being immersed in American history. Greider, who is especially interested in American history, says that “by being in the [nation’s] capital and in a museum that focuses specifically on the part of history which I most enjoy, I have been able to narrow my focus.” This narrowing of focus has helped her make the decision to pursue graduate studies in American history.

Other Roanoke students participating in the Lutheran College Washington Semester program this fall include: 

• Caelin Bennett ’20, a criminal justice major, who is interning at Offender Aid and Restoration, a community-based justice organization that aims to rehabilitate ex-offenders into society.
• Tyler Bowe ’21, an international relations major, who is interning at the Multicultural Community Service, a bilingual, community-based human services and educational nonprofit that provides programming to promote and improve the quality of life.
• Destinee Harper ’21, a literary studies major with a minor in Spanish, who is interning at the United States Capitol Historical Society.
• Rebecca Hensley ’20, a political science major, who is an intern for U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, from Virginia’s 9th District.
• Joyelle Ronan ’21, a communications studies major with a minor in theatre, who is interning at On Tap Magazine, a monthly lifestyle and entertainment publication in the D.C. metropolitan area.
• Mary Rose Stark ’21, an international relations major with a minor in political science, who is interning at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, a U.S. Department of Defense institution for building relationships and understanding in the NESA region.
• Catherine "Casey" Wilson ’20, a political science major with a minor in Spanish, who is an intern for U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, of Virginia. Wilson is a member of the College's Honors program as well.