Jeremy Levinson ’18
Describe what you were looking for in an internship and how you found the position you held.
Before I started my internship with Raja, I knew that I wanted to start my professional career by working on campaigns but I didn’t know specifically which aspect of campaigning appealed to me. I found this position through a former boss who had moved to the area to start working this campaign. He asked me to help out and volunteer at an event and eventually my position turned into an internship.
What were your responsibilities at your internship? What did your average day at work look like?
My responsibilities at my internship mainly consisted of field work; more specifically, identifying target areas based on recent voter turnout and then canvassing those areas. However, a typical day at my internship wasn’t limited to field work. My days also consisted of performing many different tasks required of a Congressional campaign, including fundraising calls, event set-up, and data entry. Toward the end of my internship, I occasionally had the privilege of driving Raja around to different events. While it was humbling to be in the presence of a future congressman, it also made me appreciate Raja as just a normal guy fighting to make a difference in people’s lives.
Describe a project or responsibility that you found particularly rewarding—and why.
One specific project which I found particularly rewarding is one actually that is still ongoing: organizing the internship program for the summer. I find this task very rewarding because I am helping to discover and train the next generation of civic-minded individuals. No matter what their party affiliation is, people who volunteer and work on political campaigns are dedicated to changing the country and the lives of the people who live in it.
What did you gain from your internship? This might include: specific skills; ideas about your future career; anything else you want to comment on.
My experience working on Raja’s Krishnamoorthi’s Congressional Campaign not only granted me valuable campaign skills which I will assuredly use in the future but it also solidified my career ambitions. I knew going into this internship that I wanted to work on campaigns in some capacity, but I know now that I would like to eventually manage campaigns. Fighting for someone who will go on to make a difference in people’s lives is very attractive to me. I hope one day to become a candidate—the person who will fight to make people’s lives better!