Vol. 19, No. 31

May 18, 2000

Senior receives White House internship

This summer while most graduates are seeing the world, starting new jobs or looking for work, Elizabeth Rieser-Murphy will be interning at the White House. Rieser-Murphy, AS '2000, will graduate from the Honors Program this month with a major in international relations and minors in history and Spanish studies. She's applied to the Peace Corps and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps but they don't start their program for new participants until the fall. Fluent in Spanish, she would like to have a career in international development in Latin America. Her mother suggested she try for a White House summer internship to get a good look at the government she wants to be part of. Because about 1,200 persons apply each session but only 200 are selected, Rieser-Murphy knew selection would be competitive. But, she applied anyway, and, to her surprise, she was chosen. "I want to see how the White House works so that if I get a job with USAID or something in Latin American development, I'll know how things get done," Rieser-Murphy said. Her term is June 1 to Aug. 31. Altogether, there are 30 offices within the Office of the White House, the Office of the Vice President and the Office of Policy Development on behalf of the Administration. She doesn't know what her White House assignment will be yet, but her preferences are anywhere in the Office of the Vice President, for the Domestic Policy Council, in women's issues or intergovernmental affairs. Because her family lives in College Park, Md., she'll be able to stay at home while she serves on the White House staff. This will not be the first time the UD senior has served the federal government. In 1996, she did an internship with U.S. Rep. Patricia Schroeder, D-Colorado. She was a legislative assistant to staff members working on welfare legislation. The experience was eye opening. "I decided that I am not interested in politics," she said. But, she does consider the legislative internship to have been as valuable an experience as she hopes working in the White House will be. On May 17, she will be at the White House for orientation and to get her internship assignment -Barbara Garrison