Simpson College sent three students to Washington D.C. under the Capitol Hill Internship Program (CHIP) at the end of January. 

Madaline Paulsen, Jailyn Seabrooks and Daniel Estrada will all spend the rest of the semester in Washington, D.C. and earn a semester of credit through an internship and two seminar classes. 

The students work four days each week and take educational tours of historical sites, federal agencies and other landmark attractions on Fridays. 

CHIP students from Simpson have interned at numerous high profile institutions and organizations, including The White House, American Enterprise Institute, The Smithsonian Institute, U.S. Department of Justice, The Interfaith Alliance and more. 

Seabrooks, a political science and religion double major has enjoyed her time living and interning as a college student in Washington, D.C. 

“I have been really enjoying my time in D.C. so far, it has been nice to have some friends from home. I chose to do this program because I wanted real-world experience at a non-profit as well as experience living in a big city,” Seabrooks said. 

Seabrooks has been interning at the National Organization for Women, specifically within their Political action committee.

“It has been really inspiring to work around women who are fighting for equality, including some women who have been doing this work for decades,” she said. “I have gotten to do a lot of cool things already including watching a house vote about the Equal Rights Amendment, hearing a Holocaust survivor speak and meeting congresswomen like Ayanna Pressley.”

Seabrooks is excited for the opportunities to come for the remainder of the semester and looks forward to traveling around the D.C. area more as the weather warms up.  

Kedron Bardwell, interim director for Simpson’s CHIP program, believes this is an amazing opportunity for students looking to gain hands-on experience and further their career development in the heart of Washington, D.C.

“We have multiple students that have done CHIP that are actually working in D.C. still, so they got hired either right away or a year or two after the program,” Bardwell said. “Students make a lot of connections that they can use to further their career. Overall students have had some pretty great experiences working up there.” 

You don’t have to be a political science, pre-law or international relations major to participate — CHIP is open to all majors. 

The application deadline is March 15 for any student who would like to participate in CHIP in the fall semester of 2020, and Oct. 15 for any looking to do CHIP during the spring semester of 2021.

To learn more about CHIP and how to apply, contact Bardwell. Any questions regarding payment for the program should be directed to Tracie Pavon at Financial Aid.