USAID Internship Provides Dickinson College International Studies Major Glimpse into Global Outreach
Mary Hinton '19, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Major:
Internship title:
Legislative and public affairs intern.
What I do, day to day:
I am on the Public Engagement team for the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs (LPA). I work with USAID's Intergovernmental Affairs advisor. We facilitate and improve communication between USAID, different government agencies and state governments. I often help prepare for and attend meetings between USAID and state governors and their staffs. Additionally, I am responsible for going through USAID's newsfeed, looking for relevant articles about work that USAID is doing, work that our partners and contractors are doing, or other issues relevant to international development, summarizing them, and passing them on to various people at USAID. I also help run the USAID social media accounts. I often go to events, meet different people from all over the world, and then create social media content to promote the work USAID does.
Other internships:
Last semester I interned at the Army War College’s Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute. I researched provincial reconstruction teams in Iraq and Afghanistan and compiled their best practices. Additionally, I interned in the Massachusetts Governors’ Office of Constituent Services after my first year.
Most valuable part of this experience:
The most valuable part of interning at USAID is that I have been able to work with all of the different bureaus within the agency. LPA handles communications for the entire agency, so I see and learn about the work that USAID does all over the world to help people in developing nations.
Advice for students considering internships:
Get an internship in a field you are really interested in and where you will be able to do many different things and learn a lot about the field.
How this internship has helped me:
This internship has allowed me to network with many different people at USAID and develop a better idea of what I want to do after graduation and how to go about pursuing a career in international development.
Post-Dickinson plans:
After graduation, I hope to either get a job in D.C. or work overseas for a few years before getting my master’s degree.
Hinton's internship experience is supported by a Dickinson internship grant. Learn more about internships at Dickinson.
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Published August 8, 2018