Leave the Nest for the Washington D.C. Internship Program

St. John Fisher University offers connections to a wide variety of internships for students in any major, focus, or career interest. While many of these internships are local or even remote, there are more immersive opportunities at a distance as well.

Bella Peracchi, a senior political science major from Stratham, New Hampshire, interned over the summer with United States Senator Chuck Schumer’s Rochester office, as well as with United States Congressman Joe Morelle’s campaign. She has now seized the opportunity to be a public policy intern with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) for the fall 2024 semester through the SUNY Brockport Washington Internship Program. 

The NCOSE believes people “should be free to live and love without sexual abuse and exploitation” according to their website. Peracchi says they work to defend human dignity and protect all individuals, regardless of how they identify. 

“I am very passionate about policy because I truly believe that policy is the root of a lot of issues,” Peracchi said. “I got into this field because I want to help implement change.” 

After spending just a few weeks in D.C., it has reaffirmed Peracchi’s hope to move to the capital for her career. “I think this is really the heart of politics and policy.” 

Peracchi’s day in the life as a public policy intern never looks the same–while she starts her morning in the office, her tasks vary from writing letters and emails to legislators and congressional members, researching bills, drafting legislative materials, and even representing the NCOSE as an observer at conferences and congressional hearings. On Fridays, instead of attending her internship, Peracchi and all other members of the internship program—students work at a variety of different governmental agencies and organizations—get together to explore the city.

“I just knew I was going to be hands-on; learning policy, being part of a policy team, learning how to implement change, and it’s for a very good cause stopping sexual exploitation,” Peracchi said.

The program grants students access to major landmarks in Washington, D.C. such as the Library of Congress, a tour of the Capitol building, the Pentagon, and CNN’s studios.

Peracchi said that this internship experience is an excellent networking opportunity as much as it is a hands-on one. The connections she has made so far with different policy professionals has allowed her to be open to different career paths in the policy field.

“The biggest takeaway is to be open-minded,” she said. “Take advantage of where you are, take advantage of opportunities. If this is the career path you're passionate about, there’s no other place better to do it. It’s an incredible opportunity— everything I’ve been doing. It’s amazing and it’s really teaching me a lot about the path I want to take.”

Students interested in the internship program can reach out to Dr. Sebastien Lazardeux, chair of the Department of Political Science and Legal Studies at Fisher, at slazardeux@sjf.edu or Dr. Robert Powell, associate director of the Washington D.C. Internship Program at SUNY Brockport, at rpowell@brockport.edu.