Borgen Project

Political Affairs Intern

July - September 2020 • Seekonk, MA

What I liked

I truly feel like I was making a difference every week. I was able to meet with actual congress leaders in my state. It was manageable and I could do as much as I wanted every week and tailor the internship to my interests. I was also able to meet other college students from many disciplines who were passionate about making the world a better place like me.

What I wish was different

I wish I had started earlier in the year because it made my year feels purposeful in many ways by being a voice for the world's less fortunate.

Advice

I would start on the tasks early in the week because you never know how long something is going to take and only pick bills you are passionate about.

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Political Affairs Intern

February - July 2023 • Cupertino, CA

What I liked

I liked seeing how much of an impact I made!

What I wish was different

I wish that there was a little more flexibility and being able to choose what I wanted to do.

Advice

You definitely get out what you put in!

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Political Affairs Intern

June - August 2018 • Denver, CO

What I liked

I learned more about the political process than I could've in a classroom. I learned the importance of political advocacy from everyday citizens and the impact a collective group can have on policy.

What I wish was different

Congresspeople tend to be very busy, therefore, securing face to face meetings with them was extremely difficult.

Advice

Not a huge commitment. Do it if you strongly believe in their mission and are not afraid to support it publicly.

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Journalist

November 2019 - February 2020 • New York City, NY

What I liked

Enjoyed the communication with management, ability to work remotely with team members across different timezones and complete fulfilling work based on informative articles, fundraising and community mobilizing.

What I wish was different

It would have been helpful to have additional fundraising resources for intern success as well as the ability to connect with fellow interns in local area to form work connections remotely or in person.

Advice

My experience with The Borgen Project was extremely satisfying. If you are looking to make an impact in the work that you complete this is an organization to join and feel good about. On a weekly basis interns mobilize their network and community to get politically active to increase the likelihood of getting poverty reduction bills passed in Congress. While also completing informative articles that shine light on the good being done to reduce poverty worldwide. This is an important topic that must be considered as further solutions to poverty greatly impact other areas such as health, security, etc. You will be a part of this solution oriented approach by joining this impactful organization.

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Editing Intern

June - August 2017 • Tallahassee, FL

What I liked

It's a telecommunication position, so you can work from anywhere as long as you have internet access and a computer, which was great for the summer since generally that's when I travel the most. The managers are fantastic and very helpful. The position is straightforward and easy to learn.

What I wish was different

I wish there was less focus on raising money for the organization, but I understand why that would be necessary.

Advice

Don' t be afraid to ask for more responsibility! And communicate with your managers as much as you can. They ended up hiring me on part-time after the internship ended because they said they loved the way I communicated and that I was so willing to do some extra tasks for them.

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Political Affairs Intern

July - September 2020 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Making my own hours Networking opportunities experience

What I wish was different

more management more realistic goals for day to day tasks

Advice

start fundraising immediately

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Human Resources Telecommute Intern

June - September 2017 • Charleston, SC

What I liked

The telecommute aspect of the job was really nice. I got to be home for the summer and still get great internship experience and guidance from my supervisor.

What I wish was different

The internship was a bit repetitive in the tasks you had to do, but I think that occurs at all internships.

Advice

This internship is really what you make out of it. There were many great opportunities that all you had to do were take advantage of them and you could gain great experience.

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Journalist Intern

June - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I had the ability to choose what topics I wanted to write about which made me put more effort into writing the articles.

What I wish was different

nothing!

Advice

Step out of your comfort zones, but also play to your strengths!

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Nonprofit Leadership Intern

July - September 2023 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

If you are looking for internship experience with flexible schedule and want to gain relevant work experience in nonprofit and political science, I would recommend you to apply for internships at The Borgen Project. I could learn a lot about global poverty and foreign aid, and the team and my manager were so supportive all the time.

What I wish was different

Advice

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PR and marketing intern

May - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

It was very convenient because it was work from home. Also , a lot of marketing tactics to learn. I got to build relations with media too.

What I wish was different

Advice

Do this! It’s a good internship with a social side to it .

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PR/Marketing

March - June 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I've always wanted to help people and make a difference, therefore gaining experience while advocating for poverty and hunger really made me feel good.

What I wish was different

I wish that they were a paid internship and that they didnt make the interns complete a fundraising campaign.

Advice

I would say that if you enjoy helping others, regardless of it being an unpaid internship, you should definitely go for it.

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Intern, Content Writer

June - August 2019 • Baton Rouge, LA

What I liked

I liked that my internship was online and had a flexible schedule. All articles and tracker information was due by Friday nights, so I had the entire week to plan my schedule out on my own time. I also appreciated the real-life critiques to my work, as I became a better writer throughout the course of my internship.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Political Affair Intern

June - August 2018 • Reno, NV

What I liked

The lobbying and interacting with new people.

What I wish was different

That there was more one on one with the supervisors.

Advice

To stay motivated and ask questions.

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Marketing intern

June - September 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

What I wish was different

Advice

Perfect for students with busy schedules, very accommodating

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Political Affairs Intern

June 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I really enjoyed the hands-on portions of my internship. I was given a large degree of independence to pursue my interests in legislative advocacy, so I took the opportunity and ran with it. Plus, it is a great organization with a wonderful mission, and it was great to learn about lobbying while supporting a topic that I am passionate about.

What I wish was different

Because this was a remote internship, I did not get the one-on-one feedback that I craved when I had questions. It would have been nice to have someone guiding me during some difficult portions of the process.

Advice

You are in charge of your own experience, so work ahead and don't expect anyone to do the work for you. Independence can be a blessing or a curse, depending on how you play your cards.

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Political Affairs Intern

August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

This is a remote internship, thus it allowed me to continue with my studies while still working with the Borgen Project. Despite it being remote, it really required me to get out there and interact with individuals specifically congressional leaders, especially since this is related to my major.

What I wish was different

I think everything was planned out well. The only difficulty was that my intern advisor was currently in South Africa so our meetings would only happen at awkward hours like 3-5am.

Advice

You would really need to plan and organize all your work in advance, due to the fact that this is a remote internship. Ensuring that you have scheduled time set to focus on your internship work. Also since most of the work will require you to mobilize people, you need to be prepared to receive rejects because people categorize you as the voter registration volunteers.

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regional director

June 2018 • Colorado Springs, CO

What I liked

the freedom

What I wish was different

the workload

Advice

works fast

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Political affairs

June - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Flexibility, learning new things, pushing past my comfort zone

What I wish was different

A little more interaction with staff

Advice

Stick to a schedule, have perseverance, and push past your comfort zone

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Content Writer

August - October 2020 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Being a content writer for The Borgen Project was a wonderful experience. They have high expectations that are all clearly communicated at the beginning of the internship. There are weekly deadlines that can be challenging if you do not plan accordingly. I had to write 1 article a week between 500 and 900 words. I also had to mobilize others to reach out to our representatives to show our support for world hunger, poverty, and education initiatives. Additionally, I set aside about 2 hours a week to focus on my fundraising goals. I stepped outside of my comfort zone and learned how to be a more professional communicator, researcher, and writer. My first article was a mess, I knew it, but I did not know how to fix it. They gave me a lot of helpful feedback, and by my third article, I felt more confident in my writing skills.

What I wish was different

Obviously, I did not enjoy all of the tasks assigned but I understand and respect how they help The Borgen Project. As an intern I agreed to help the organization, therefore I did what was asked. This helped me come out of my shell so it was a win win.

Advice

I would recommend this opportunity to anyone wanting real-world experience, and to build your resume and network. Understand that it will not be easy and make time to do your job well.

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