Liah Alemayehu participated in her internship at Vote-USA in Boston.
Tell us about your experience. What were your responsibilities?
I interned at Vote-USA, an organization that utilizes a non-partisan web-based social interaction tool that enables voters to connect to candidates running at their city, county, and state levels. As a research intern for Vote-USA, my responsibilities consisted of researching candidates’ campaign information, contacting candidates to invite them to fill out their profile on the web page, and conducting interviews with those candidates which will then be used for podcasts. I analyzed states and governments in order to understand the methods involved in presenting constituents’ information regarding elected officials and their policy agenda.
How did your academic background prepare you for this internship opportunity?
I think my liberal arts training and thinking came into play during my internship. Throughout my time at BU, I’ve significantly improved my critical thinking and research analysis skills, and these skills were essential in my internship.
What aspects of the internship did you find most fulfilling and engaging? Having the opportunity to conduct interviews with candidates running to become elected officials was something I was proud of. Drafting questions specific to a candidate’s policy agenda, current events (such as the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement), educational background, etc. was really interesting. After conducting the interviews through Zoom, they are composed into an episode for Vote-USA’s podcast.
How did the internship enhance your understanding of political and campaign processes? The internship helped me understand the world better, specifically in gaining a deeper understanding of the political and campaign process. When applying research efforts, I was able to learn how partisan politics and issues affect that district, and how heavily it impacts the divide in constituents and government. Additionally, how a candidate’s policy agenda is dependent on their district, and learning how severe specific issues are in that geographical area.
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