Nine Rice students develop research skills in D.C. this summer

The few, the proud, the unpaid
Nine Rice students develop research skills in D.C. this summer

BY FRANZ BROTZEN
Rice News staff
 
Tomorrow’s public policy wonks are working hard this summer for free.
 
Nine Rice undergraduates were chosen from a highly competitive pool of 25 candidates to go to Washington, D.C., as part of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Jesse Jones Leadership Center’s Summer in DC Policy Research Internship Program. It’s a coveted opportunity for students interested in community service and public policy, said Steven Lewis, fellow in Asian Studies at the Baker Institute and program coordinator.
 
When they got to Washington, the students joined non-governmental organizations, think tanks and branches of the federal government, where they work as unpaid, full-time interns. The Baker Institute covers all of the students’ costs during their three-month stints in the capitol.

COURTESY PHOTO

Nine Rice undergraduates were chosen from a highly competitive pool of 25 candidates to go to Washington, D.C., as part of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Jesse Jones Leadership Center’s Summer in DC Policy Research Internship Program.

Edward Djerejian, founding director of the Baker Institute, called the three-year-old program one of the Institute’s most important. “What is particularly gratifying is the interest this intern program has generated in Rice students expressing an interest in going into public service.”

Training the next generation
 
While the Baker Institute supports the program, the students are responsible for finding their own internships. The fact that the program is student-driven, Lewis said, is what makes it different from other summer internship programs in Washington.
 
”We’re trying to take advantage of the fact that we have excellent undergrads at Rice who are increasingly interested in public policy, and also take advantage of the fact that, at the Baker Institute, we have research projects with good visibility and connections to Washington in particular,” Lewis said. ”The institute is trying to help train the next generation of policy researchers.”
 
In addition to their jobs, the nine Rice students meet for five-hour seminars on three summer weekends to read contemporary and classic texts on globalization and other issues. They are also required to write a research paper, which is posted on the Baker Institute Web site and presented to their colleagues, Institute fellows and faculty members on September 9.
 
Building links to D.C.

People who participate in the program build bonds that last beyond the summer, Lewis said.

“Alumni have come forward and asked to help with this year’s interns,” Lewis said. “Some of those alumni won Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships after participating in our internships, and most have gone on to professional or graduate schools when they leave Rice.”
 
The nine Rice interns are:

Ashley Allen is a junior Philosophy major from Arlington, Texas. She will be conducting research on women’s health and reproductive rights at the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA).
 
Emery Gullickson is a junior English and Sociology major from Houston. She will be surveying D.C.-area clergy about their views on needle exchange programs with the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative.
 
Bhavika Kaul is a sophomore Biochemistry and Policy Studies major from Katy, Texas. She plans to research global HIV/AIDS policy at the American Medical Student Association. She interned previously with the Baker Institute Science and Technology Policy program.
 
John Kehoe is a junior Economics major from Austin, Texas. He plans to conduct research on American foreign policy at the Middle East Institute. He has performed research on U.S. foreign policy at the Baker Institute.
 
Casey Langwith is a sophomore History and Sociology major from Omaha, Neb. She plans to research women’s health issues, including insurance, Medicaid and preconception health, at the Jacobs Institute for Women’s Health at George Washington University.
 
Mithun Mansinghani is a junior Political Science and Policy Studies major from McAllen, Texas. He is researching U.S. social welfare policy with the American Enterprise Institute. He has interned with the Baker Institute’s Transnational China Project.
 
Payton Odom is a sophomore Mathematical Economics and Political Science major from McKinney, Texas. He is performing research on economic development policy, with a focus on Latin America, at the Inter-American Foundation. He has worked with the Tax Policy program at the Baker Institute.
 
Sanna Ronkainen is a junior Bioechemistry and Cell Biology major from Annandale, Va. She will research diabetes and Medicare policy at the American Diabetes Association.
 
Apoorva Shah is a junior Hispanic Studies and Policy Studies major from Sugar Land, Texas. He will be conducting research on private-sector international development and community development, with a focus on Latin America, with the American Enterprise Institute.
 
The program is supported by the Houston Endowment Inc., as well as Anne Armstrong, the Eason-Weinmann Foundation, Kenneth Franzheim, Roy Huffington, Edward Ney, Peter Secchia, the Salgo Trust for Education, C. Howard Wilkins and Mr. and Mrs. Steven L. Miller.