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A Purdue Agriculture alumnus who has spent many years working in public policy in Washington, D.C. wants to give students a similar opportunity.
Nels Ackerson and his wife Sharon provided funding to develop the Washington, D.C. Public Policy Internship program. An agricultural economics graduate, Ackerson is an attorney in a Washington, D.C. law firm and a former senior staff member for the U.S. Senate. The program, which started in 2005, enables Purdue Agriculture students to participate in unpaid summer internships in the nation's capital.
"Students who have participated in a Washington, D.C. internship have the opportunity to apply communication, research and other skills in a fast-paced and dynamic setting," says Jane Alexander, program coordinator and assistant director for academic excellence for Purdue Agriculture.
Interested students go through an application process during spring semester. The five students selected are placed in internships in government offices and agencies and not-for-profit organizations. Each student receives a scholarship to offset living expenses.
"Without Purdue's program, the internships might not be feasible," says Jessica Platt, who interned with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture last summer.
Interns attend orientation sessions during the spring and information sessions while in Washington, D.C. During fall semester, they take a capstone class to complete the experience.
The program has been so successful that four 2005 interns applied to other internship programs in 2006 and returned to Washington, D.C. for a second internship experience.
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